Distribution, Density and Growth - NCERT

1 Chapter-2 Distribution, Density andGrowthThe people of a country are its real wealth. Itis they, who are the actual resources and makeuse of the country s other resources and decideits policies. Ultimately a country is known byits is important to know how many womenand men a country has, how many children areborn each year, how many people die and how?Whether they live in cities or villages, can theyread or write and what work do they do? Theseare what you will study about in this world at the beginning of 21st centuryrecorded the presence of over 6 billionpopulation.

2 We shall discuss the patterns oftheir distribution and Density do people prefer to live in certainregions and not in others?The population of the world is unevenlydistributed. The remark of George B. Cresseyabout the population of Asia that Asia has manyplaces where people are few and few place wherepeople are very many is true about the patternof population distribution of the world also. Patterns of population distribution and densityhelp us to understand the demographiccharacteristics of any area. The term populationdistribution refers to the way people are spacedover the earth s surface.

3 Broadly, 90 per cent ofthe world population lives in about 10 per centof its land 10 most populous countries of theworld contribute about 60 per cent of the world spopulation. Of these 10 countries, 6 are locatedin Asia. Identify these six countries of gold but only (Wo)men can makea people great and strong.(Wo)men who for truth andhonour s sake, stand fast and sufferlong (Wo)men who toil while otherssleep who dare while others flee they build a nation s pillars deep andlift it to the Waldo EmersonFig. : Most Populous Countries2022-23 Each unit of land has limited capacity tosupport people living on it.

4 Hence, it isnecessary to understand the ratio between thenumbers of people to the size of land. This ratiois the Density of population . It is usuallymeasured in persons per sq kmPopulation Density of population = AreaFor example, area of Region X is 100 sqkm and the population is 1,50,000 Density of population is calculated as:1,50,000 Density100== 1,500 person/sq kmWhat does this tell you about Region X?Look at Table and observe that Asia hasthe highest Density of population . Discussin the class about what could be the reason forthis.

5 Factors(i)Availability of water: Water is the mostimportant factor for life. So, people preferto live in areas where fresh water is easilyThe World population : Distribution, Density and Growth 9available. Water is used for drinking,bathing and cooking and also for cattle,crops, industries and navigation. It isbecause of this that river valleys are amongthe most densely populated areas of theworld.(ii)Landforms: People prefer living on flatplains and gentle slopes. This is becausesuch areas are favourable for theproduction of crops and to build roadsand industries.

6 The mountainous andhilly areas hinder the development oftransport network and hence initially donot favour agricultural and industrialdevelopment. So, these areas tend to beless populated. The Ganga plains areamong the most densely populatedareas of the world while the mountainszones in the Himalayas are scarcelypopulated.(iii)Climate: An extreme climate such as veryhot or cold deserts are uncomfortable forhuman habitation. Areas with acomfortable climate, where there is notmuch seasonal variation attract morepeople. Areas with very heavy rainfall orextreme and harsh climates have lowpopulation.

7 Mediterranean regions wereinhabited from early periods in history dueto their pleasant AreaDensityWorld Share(2018)(Km2)(P/Km2)(in percentage)Asia4,545,133,09431,033, ,287,920,51829,648, ,648,01022,134, America and652,012,00120,139, CaribbeanNorthern America363,844,49018,651, ,261,2128,486, : Region wise Density of PopulationSource: on of Human Geography10(iv)Soils: Fertile soils are important foragricultural and allied activities. Therefore,areas which have fertile loamy soils havemore people living on them as these cansupport intensive agriculture.

8 Can youname some areas in India which are thinlypopulated due to poor soils? Factors(i)Minerals: Areas with mineral depositsattract industries. Mining and industrialactivities generate employment. So, skilledand semi skilled workers move to theseareas and make them densely Zambia copper belt in Africa isone such good example.(ii)Urbanisation: Cities offer betteremployment opportunities, educationaland medical facilities, better means oftransport and communication. Good civicamenities and the attraction of city life drawpeople to the cities.

9 It leads to rural tourban migration and cities grow in cities of the world continue to attractlarge number of migrants every city life can be very thinkof some of the unpleasant aspects of citylife.(iii)Industrialisation: Industrial belts providejob opportunities and attract largenumbers of people. These include not justfactory workers but also transportoperators, shopkeepers, bank employees,doctors, teachers and other serviceproviders. The Kobe-Osaka region ofJapan is thickly populated because of thepresence of a number of and Cultural FactorsSome places attract more people because theyhave religious or cultural significance.

10 In thesame way people tend to move away fromplaces where there is social and politicalunrest. Many a times governments offerincentives to people to live in sparselypopulated areas or move away fromovercrowded places. Can you think of someexamples from your region? The population Growth or population changerefers to the change in number of inhabitants ofa territory during a specific period of time. Thischange may be positive as well as negative. Itcan be expressed either in terms of absolutenumbers or in terms of percentage. Populationchange in an area is an important indicator ofeconomic development, social upliftment andhistorical and cultural background of the region.