Transcript Population
Population Population Growth • In the last half of the twentieth century the world’s population has increased dramatically 1800 – 1 billion 1930 – 2 billion 1960 – 3 billion 1976 – 4 billion 1988 – 5 billion 1999 – 6 billion 2012 – 7 billion 2014 – 7.125 billion Reasons for Rapid Population Growth 1. Death Rate (Number of deaths each year per 1,000 people) has decreased Better farming techniques New medicines Vaccines to prevent disease Better living conditions Improvements in health care 2. Birth Rate (Number of live births each year per 1,000 people) has increased in some areas of the world. Asia, Africa, and Latin America – families are traditionally large because children work on the farms. Challenges from Population Growth 1. Shortage of food famine – lack of food 2. Shortage of water 3. Shortage of resources 4. Shortage of housing Tent cities Demand for housing outstrips supply 5. Shortage of jobs Unemployment lines Why People Settled Where They Did (Historically) 1. Near fertile soil 2. Where water is plentiful 3. Climate is mild 4. Near natural / industrial resources We either move resources to the people Or the people move to the resources Population Density • Average number of people in a square mile or a square kilometer – Divide the total population by the land area of a country or region Example: Egypt Overall population density – 173 people per sq. mi. Within 20 miles of the Nile River – 5,500 people per sq. mi. Example: Afghanistan and Nepal Population of both about the same Nepal much smaller in area than Afghanistan Nepal – 447 people per sq. mi. Afghanistan – 103 people per sq. mi. Population Distribution • People live on a small fraction of the earth’s surface. •Population is not distributed, or spread, evenly. Where People Live • The densest clusters of people are in four regions: – East Asia • China – South Asia • India – Europe – Eastern North America • New York, Boston, Washington DC Population Patterns • Urban - city – ½ of world population lives in cities – In many countries, urban populations are growing twice as fast as rural • Rural – Agricultural countryside Population patterns • Metropolitan areas – Central cities surrounded by suburbs • Urbanization – Growth of city populations Population Movement Emigrate – people leave the country where they were born and move to another Known as emigrants in their homeland and immigrants in their new country Refugees –people who flee to another country to escape war, food shortages, political unrest, or persecution Refugees from Kosovo