GEOG 1HB3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: M People, Population Ageing, New Place
20 May 2018
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INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL POPULATION: DISTRIBUTION &
CHANGE
Population Geography
Demography: the study of a population.
Population Geography: the study of the spatial expressions of a population. We consider questions like:
• Where people live, work?
• How they live ?– i.e. their spatial distribution
• What resources they use? – Is there equal access to resources?
• What are their conditions of health and well-being?
Facts: The current global population is 7.59 Billion as of Feb 2018 and was 6.07 Billion July 1999. China,
India and USA are the most populous countries with population of 1.41 B, 1.34B and 326M respectively.
Canada has approx. 36 M people.
Global Population Growth
In 1800, we reached our first billion and have continued to grow at an increasing rate than ever before,
reaching our seventh billion in 2011. It is taking less time to reach billions now and we are projected to
reach our 8th billion in 2023.
Nature & Consequences of Growth
Key issues associated with population growth:
1. Differential (unequal) population growth: There are spatial variations in population growth
across regions with more growths in LDW compared to MDW—Only 10% of total births are from
MDW.
2. We need to consider some factors as we plan for the large influx of people:
• Provisions of health-care & social services.
• Provisions of food.
• Resource Scarcity (water, oil, etc.).
• Potential for conflict.
Recall Distribution: a geographic phenomenon that can be explained with reference to the distance
between things and their spatial organization. The three forms of distribution: Density,
Dispersion/Concentration and Pattern
• Uneven distribution: There are several physical and human factors that are behind the unequal
distribution of people. Some include education levels, health care, cultural beliefs etc. Regions
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with high population densities (concentrated population) include Europe, South Asia, Eastern
North America, etc. and regions with low population densities (dispersed population) include
North Africa, Northern North America, Australia, etc.
The world is divided with respect to economic and social development
• And this trend usually correlates with the level of population – high populated areas usually
have lower levels of social and economic developments compared to low populated areas.
• The ost populous outries ted to e a part of the gloal ore
Population Density: The number of people occupying an area of land.
Measures of Population Density:
• Arithmetic (crude): the number of people per unit area of land.
• Physiological: the number of people per unit area of arable land (farmable, cultivable land). This
is a more true value of population density.
Physiological measure of population density is usually higher than Arithmetic measure of
population density. Ex: the arithmetic PD of Canada is 3 while the physiological PD of Canada is
65.
Overpopulation: This is when the number of people in an area exceeds the capacity of the environment
to support life at a decent standard of living. We need to recognize the environment can only sustain a
certain population size.
Carrying capacity: the maximum population that can be supported by a given set of natural resources
and a given level of technology.
Catastrophists believe the earth has reached its carrying capacity and our growing population is only
going to increase the strain on our natural resources while Cornucopians believe improvement in
technology would provide solutions for population growth.
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Document Summary
Population geography: the study of the spatial expressions of a population. Facts: the current global population is 7. 59 billion as of feb 2018 and was 6. 07 billion july 1999. India and usa are the most populous countries with population of 1. 41 b, 1. 34b and 326m respectively. In 1800, we reached our first billion and have continued to grow at an increasing rate than ever before, reaching our seventh billion in 2011. It is taking less time to reach billions now and we are projected to reach our 8th billion in 2023. Key issues associated with population growth: differential (unequal) population growth: there are spatial variations in population growth across regions with more growths in ldw compared to mdw only 10% of total births are from. Mdw: we need to consider some factors as we plan for the large influx of people, provisions of health-care & social services, provisions of food, resource scarcity (water, oil, etc, potential for conflict.
