World Population

What factors influence population growth in a given area or region?

Population growth varies from country to country and is influenced by cultural ideas, migration, and level of development.

Population Growth

• More than 6.8 billion people now live on Earth, inhabiting about 30 percent of the planet’s land.

• Global population is growing rapidly and is expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050.

• The Demographic Transition

– The demographic transition model uses birthrates and death rates to show changes in the population trends of a country or region.

– Most of the industrialized and technologically developed countries have reached zero population growth, in which the birthrate and death rate are equal.

Population Growth (cont.)

The Demographic Transition Model

Figure 1

Population Growth (cont.)

• Rapid population growth presents many challenges to the global community:

– difficulty producing enough food to feed everyone

– a shortage of resources

– an uneven distribution of age

Population Growth (cont.)

• Countries, such as Hungary and Germany, have experienced negative population growth, in which the annual death rate exceeds the annual birthrate.

World population distribution is uneven and is

influenced by migration and the Earth’s physical geography.

Population Distribution

• Almost everyone on Earth lives on a little less than one-third of the planet’s land.

Population Distribution (cont.)

• Population Density

– To determine population density in a country, geographers divide the total population of the country by its total land area.

– This does not account for uneven population distribution.

World Population Density

Figure 2

Population Distribution (cont.)

• Population Movement

– Many people are moving to urban areas.

– The primary cause of urbanization is the desire of rural people to find jobs and a better life in more prosperous urban areas.

– Population movement also occurs between countries.

Urban Growth in Selected Cities

Figure 3

A. AB. BC. CD. D

Which country has one of the highest population densities in the world?

A. Bangladesh

B. Canada

C. Sweden

D. China