Chapter 9. Population Geography

The world’s population passed 8 billion in 2022, according to United Nations estimates, and continues to grow, though more slowly than in the late twentieth century [17].

Where people live. Population is highly uneven. Large concentrations occur in East Asia, South Asia, Europe, eastern North America and river valleys such as the Nile. Sparse areas include deserts, polar regions, high mountains and dense rainforests [2][3].

Measures. Key indicators are the crude birth rate, crude death rate, natural increase, total fertility rate, infant mortality, life expectancy, and dependency ratio. Population density is people per unit area; physiological density counts people per unit of arable land [2].

Demographic transition model. Societies tend to move from high birth and death rates (stage 1) through a period of rapid growth as death rates fall (stages 2–3) to low rates with stable or declining numbers (stages 4–5) [18].

Migration. People move for economic, political, social and environmental reasons. Push factors drive people away (conflict, poverty, disaster); pull factors attract them (jobs, safety, family ties). Early migration laws proposed by Ravenstein still shape the field [19].

Review: Why does a country in stage 2 of the demographic transition grow so quickly?