Population GeographyChapter 5
Where are the people?
1. China ~1.3 billion2. India ~1.1 billion3. U. S. ~310 million4. Indonesia ~242
mil.5. Brazil ~201
million
6. Pakistan ~177 million7. Bangladesh ~158 million8. Nigeria ~152 million9. Russia ~139 million10. Japan ~126 million
Cool Population Facts
• 3/5 (60%) of the world lives in Asia• 1/5 (20%) of the world lives in
China• 90% of the world live in the
Northern Hemisphere• The world has 2.2 billion children
(that’s 1/3 of the population)
Geographers also use population density—the average number of people living in an area.
Population density includes size of its country, size of its population, and its environment.
Thinking Critically:
Canada has a population density of 8 persons per square mile
Bangladesh is 2,361 persons per square mile
How would you explain this in terms of population density?
Canada
Bangladesh
Which countries have the highest population
density?
Emigrants—people who leave a country to live somewhere else (EXIT)
Immigrants—people who come into a new country to live (INTO)
What does the future hold?
1804: World reaches 1 billion• 123 years later…
1927: World reaches 2 billion• 33 years later…
1960: World reaches 3 billion• 14 years later…
1974: World reaches 4 billion• 13 years later…
1987: World reaches 5 billion
1999: Population reaches 6 billion
It is estimated that we will hit 7 billion in 2012 (now it will be Oct. 2011)
8 billion by 2025
And 9 billion by 2050
• 7 Billion, National Geographic Magazine - YouTube
• 7 Billion: Are You Typical? -- National Geographic Magazine - YouTube
Thinking Critically
• Why has the world’s population exploded?
• Could large populations be a problem? Why?
Demographic Trends
Population is dropping in Europe, Japan, Australia because birth rates have dropped.
Countries in Africa, Asia, and South America have exploding populations because of high birth rates.
Even though the United States has slightly lower birth rates, a high level of immigration has kept the population high.
How do you track population?
Population pyramids—a bar graph that shows the percentage of males and females and age groups in a given country.
Purpose
Pyramids are used to show whether a population is growing or declining; it also indicates the breakdown of gender and age
Create your own pyramid