Distribution of the world population. Features of the distribution of the population on the territory of the earth Distribution of the population on the territory of the globe

The world's population has already exceeded 6.6 billion people. All these people live in 15–20 million different settlements - cities, towns, villages, hamlets, hamlets, etc. But these settlements are distributed extremely unevenly across the earth's landmass. Thus, according to available estimates, half of all humanity lives on 1/20 of the inhabited land area.


The uneven distribution of population on the globe is explained by four main reasons.
The first reason is the influence of natural factors. It is clear that vast areas with extreme natural conditions (deserts, ice expanses, tundra, highlands, tropical forests) do not create favorable conditions for human life. This can be demonstrated by the example of table 60, which clearly shows both general patterns and differences between individual regions.
The main general pattern is that 80% of all people live in lowlands and hills up to 500 m high, which occupy only 28% of the earth's land, including in Europe, Australia and Oceania, more than 90% of the total population live in such areas, in Asia and North America - 80% or so. But, on the other hand, in Africa and South America, 43–44% of people live in areas exceeding 500 m in altitude. Such unevenness is also typical for individual countries: the most “low-lying” include, for example, the Netherlands, Poland, France, Japan , India, China, USA, and the most “exalted” are Bolivia, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mexico, Iran, Peru. At the same time, most of the population is concentrated in the subequatorial and subtropical climate zones of the Earth.
The second reason is the impact of historical features of the settlement of the earth's land. After all, the distribution of population across the Earth’s territory has evolved throughout human history. The process of formation of modern humans, which began 40–30 thousand years ago, took place in South-West Asia, North-East Africa and Southern Europe. From here people then spread throughout the Old World. Between the thirtieth and tenth millennia BC, they settled North and South America, and at the end of this period, Australia. Naturally, the time of settlement to some extent could not but affect the population size.
The third reason is differences in the current demographic situation. It is clear that the number and density of population is increasing most rapidly in those countries and regions where its natural growth is highest.
Table 60

Bangladesh can serve as a striking example of this kind. This country with a small territory and very high natural population growth already has a population density of 970 people per 1 km2. If the current level of birth rate and growth here continues, then, according to calculations, in 2025 the country's population density will exceed 2000 people per 1 km2!
The fourth reason is the impact of the socio-economic living conditions of people, their economic activities, and the level of production development. One of its manifestations may be the “attraction” of the population to the coasts of the seas and oceans, or more precisely, to the land-ocean contact zone.
The zone located at a distance of up to 50 km from the sea can be called the zone of immediate coastal settlement. It is home to 29% of all people, including 40% of all urban residents of the world. This share is especially high in Australia and Oceania (about 80%). This is followed by North America, South America and Europe (30–35%), Asia (27) and Africa (22%). The zone, located 50-200 km from the sea, can be considered as indirectly connected with the coast: although the settlement itself here is no longer coastal, in economic terms it feels the daily and significant influence of the proximity of the sea. Approximately 24% of the total population of the Earth is concentrated in this zone. The literature also notes that the share of the population living at a distance of up to 200 km from the sea is gradually increasing: in 1850 it was 48.9%, in 1950 – 50.3, and now reaches 53%.
The thesis about the uneven distribution of population across the globe can be concretized using many examples. One can compare in this regard the Eastern and Western Hemispheres (80 and 20% of the population, respectively), and the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (90 and 10%). It is possible to distinguish the least and most populated areas of the Earth. The first of these include almost all the highlands, most of the giant deserts of Central and South-West Asia and North Africa, and to some extent tropical forests, not to mention Antarctica and Greenland. The second group includes the historically established main population clusters in East, South and Southeast Asia, Western Europe, and the Northeast of the United States.
To characterize the distribution of the population, different indicators are used. The main one - the population density indicator - allows us to more or less clearly judge the degree of population of the territory. It determines the number of permanent residents per 1 km2.
Let's start with the average population density for all inhabited land on Earth. As one might expect, during the twentieth century. – especially as a result of the population explosion – it began to increase especially rapidly. In 1900, this figure was 12 people per 1 km2, in 1950 - 18, in 1980 - 33, in 1990 - 40, and in 2000 already about 45, and in 2005 - 48 people per 1 km2.
It is also interesting to consider the differences in average population density that exist between parts of the world. Populous Asia has the highest density (120 people per 1 km2), Europe has a very high density (110), while in other large parts of the Earth the population density is lower than the world average: in Africa about 30, in America - 20, and in Australia and Oceania - only 4 people per 1 km2.
The next level is a comparison of the population density of individual countries, which allows for Figure 47. It also provides the basis for a three-member grouping of countries in the world according to this indicator. A very high population density for a single country can obviously be considered to be over 200 people per 1 km2. Examples of countries with such population density are Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, India, Israel, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Republic of Korea, Rwanda, and El Salvador. The average density can be considered an indicator close to the world average (48 people per 1 km2). As examples of this kind, let us name Belarus, Tajikistan, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Ecuador. Finally, the lowest density indicators include 2–3 people per 1 km2 or less. The group of countries with such a population density includes Mongolia, Mauritania , Namibia, Australia, not to mention Greenland (0.02 people per 1 km2).
When analyzing Figure 47, it is necessary to take into account that very small, mostly island, countries could not be reflected in it, and it is precisely they that are distinguished by particularly high population densities. Examples include Singapore (6450 people per 1 km2), Bermuda (1200), Malta (1280), Bahrain (1020), Barbados (630), Mauritius (610), Martinique (350 people per 1 km2), not not to mention Monaco (16,900).
In educational geography, consideration of contrasts in population density within individual countries is quite widely used. The most striking examples of this kind include Egypt, China, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. At the same time, we should not forget about the archipelagic countries. For example, in Indonesia, the population density on the island. Java often exceeds 2000 people per 1 km2, and in the interior of other islands it drops to 3 people per 1 km2. It should be noted in passing that, if appropriate data are available, it is better to analyze such contrasts on the basis of comparing the density of the rural population.
Russia is an example of a country with a low average population density of 8 people per 1 km2. Moreover, this average hides very large internal differences. They exist between the Western and Eastern zones of the country (4/5 and 1/5 of the total population, respectively). They also exist between individual regions (population density in the Moscow region is approximately 350 people per 1 km2, and in many regions of Siberia and the Far East - less than 1 person per 1 km2). That is why geographers usually distinguish in Russia the Main Zone of Settlement, stretching in a gradually narrowing area through the European and Asian parts of the country. About 2/3 of all residents of the country are concentrated within this band. At the same time, Russia has vast uninhabited or very sparsely populated territories. They occupy, according to some estimates, approximately 45% of the country's total area.

Let's remember

● Is there a direct relationship between the distribution of the population and: a) natural conditions; b) employment of the population in agriculture or industry? ● Do natural population growth and migration affect the size and distribution of the population?

Keywords

Population distribution; population density; resettlement; populated areas; city; rural settlements.

1. Population distribution.Population distribution is the process of distribution of population in a certain territory. The population is distributed extremely unevenly across the Earth's territory.

About 70% of people live on 7% of the land surface. The Eastern Hemisphere has a larger population (86%) than the Western Hemisphere, and the Northern Hemisphere has a larger population than the Southern Hemisphere. About 10% of the world's population lives in the Southern Hemisphere.

The ratio of population to the area of ​​the corresponding territory is called population density. It is expressed by the average number of inhabitants per 1 km 2. To determine the average population density of the Earth, you need to divide the number of inhabitants by the area occupied by land. Thus, the world population is 6.78 billion people, the land area is 149 million km 2. Consequently, the average population density of the Earth is about 45 people per 1 km 2. (Population of Belarus- 9.7 million people, area- 207.6 thousand km 2 . Determine the average population density in Belarus and compare with the world.)(Fig. 74).

The distribution of the population depends on a number of factors, in particular natural conditions. Since ancient times, people have primarily settled and developed territories with a favorable climate and rich natural resources. The most densely populated plains are located at an altitude of up to 500 m above sea level. But they occupy only 28% of the land (Fig. 75).

Mountainous areas are less populated, with the exception of Mexico, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan, where the majority of the population lives at an altitude of over 1000 m above sea level. In Tibet, the border of human habitation rises above 5000 m above sea level. (Locate these territories on the map.)

The distribution of the population is greatly influenced by its employment in agriculture or industry. Thus, in South, East and Southeast Asia, in agricultural areas, the population density exceeds 200, and in some places - 500-2000 people per 1 km 2. With the development of industry, areas were also formed where the population density reaches 1000-1500 people per 1 km 2. Such densely populated industrial areas exist in Europe, North America, and some countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. High population density along transport and trade routes, sea and ocean coasts. In general, half of all the inhabitants of the Earth are concentrated in an area remote from the seas and oceans by an average of 200 km. In Great Britain, for example, 3/4 of the population lives within 50 km of the sea (Fig. 76).

2. Population settlement. Cities.Settlement is the process of formation and development of a network of settlements.

Locality - This is a place of permanent residence of people. With the division of human economic activity into craft and agriculture, settlements were divided into two main types: urban and rural settlements (Fig. 77). Cities arose in ancient times as centers of administrative power, trade and craft, and as military fortifications. City is a populated area with a large population employed in industry, construction, transport, the service sector and other non-agricultural work.

There is no single concept of “city” for all countries. In some countries, cities include settlements with over 1 thousand people, in the USA - 2.5 thousand, in the Republic of Belarus - 6 thousand, in Russia - 12 thousand, in Japan - over 30 thousand people.

All countries are experiencing rapid growth of cities and urban populations. This occurs both as a result of natural growth and due to the relocation of people from villages, the transformation of rural settlements into urban ones, and the creation of new cities. The urban population currently accounts for half of the world's total population, but varies greatly across countries (Figure 78). The growth of cities and urban populations, as well as the spread of urban lifestyles, is called urbanization.

If in 1800 there was only one city with a population of more than 1 million people, then by the end of the twentieth century. there were more than 330 of them. Such cities include the capital of the Republic of Belarus - the city of Minsk with a population of about 2 million people.

At the present stage, large cities are growing all over the world. Among them, cities with a population of more than 10 million people are especially distinguished (Fig. 79-83).

In 2009, there were 26 cities (megacities) in the world with a population of over 10 million people. These are Tokyo, Moscow, New York, Mexico City, London, Beijing and others. The largest of them is Tokyo - over 30 million people (Fig. 83). (What other largest cities (megacities) do you know? Find these and other largest cities in the world on the map, Fig. 84)

Living in big cities has a number of advantages: comfortable housing, transport, services. The infrastructure of large cities is focused on meeting the needs of the urban population for qualified education, treatment, and recreation. Higher educational institutions are concentrated in large cities, creating the most favorable conditions for modern scientific research and industrial development. They contain architectural monuments, theaters, concert and exhibition halls, and museums.

However, big cities pollute and change the environment. In industrial centers, air dust levels are many times higher than in rural areas. Undesirable phenomena associated with large cities include industrial and household waste, vehicle exhaust gases, pollution of water bodies, lack of green space, exceeding permissible noise standards, problems with waste disposal, etc. All this negatively affects people's health. Therefore, part of the wealthy population moves to the suburbs.

Urban settlements include urban-type settlements, as well as settlements near mines, factories, and factories. (Why?)

3. Rural settlements. Despite the rapid growth of cities, half of the world's population lives in rural settlements(Fig. 85) . Rural residents are engaged in cultivating the land (growing grain, vegetables, gardening) and raising livestock.

Rural settlements are small, medium and large. There are also those where only a few people live, sometimes one family, for example on farms.

People live very secluded on Australian farms. Communication with neighbors is most often carried out using the telephone or the Internet. The doctor gives advice via the World Wide Web. Children up to the age of 15 are also taught via the Internet.

Test yourself

What factors does population distribution depend on?

What is population density?

What types of settlements are divided into?

What settlements are called urban?

*Name 10 cities in the world with a population of more than 10 million people.

Washington, Sofia, Rome, Istanbul. Which of these cities is the northernmost and which is the southernmost?

Practical task

*Give a description of your locality according to the following plan.

Name of the locality (if it is a large city, indicate in which area of ​​the city you live).

Population size. How it changes taking into account natural and mechanical movement.

Why is your locality located in this location? When was it founded?

Why is it called that?

What do the people in your city (village) do?

By what means of transport is your city (village) connected to other cities?

This is interesting

About half of the inhabited landmass has an average population density of less than 5 people per 1 km2. It varies greatly across continents and countries (Fig. 86). Thus, in a number of countries in Europe and Asia it is almost three times higher than the average population density of the world and is more than 100 people per 1 km 2. In Africa, North and South America - half the world average (about 20 people). In Australia and Oceania - more than 10 times less (about 3 people per 1 km 2). There are no permanent residents in Antarctica.

Competition of experts

Name on which of the following continents 1/5 of the population lives at an altitude of more than 1000 m above sea level (Africa, North America, Australia, Eurasia).

How can we explain modern population migrations from developing countries to developed ones? Why is there a high proportion of old people and a small proportion of children in Western Europe? Why do developing countries continue to have high birth rates?

Assign sequential numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) according to their population size to the following regions of the world: Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America.

(gender, age, racial, ethnic, religious composition of the Earth's population).

Questions to Study

1. Sex composition of the population

2. Age composition of the population, the concept of “economically active population and demographic burden”.

3. Racial composition and ethnic picture of the world.

4. “Hot spots” in the modern world

5.Geographical aspects of the quality of life of the population.

Population of the Earth- a continuously renewed, in the process of reproduction, set of people living on Earth generally. Currently the number world population is 7.3 billion people.

Sex composition of the population Masculine and feminine principles are equivalent in nature. But for every 100 girls, 104-107 boys are born, and by the age of 15 the sex ratio levels out. But in subsequent age groups, the formation of the sex composition in different regions develops differently. There are 20 million more men worldwide, yet in half the countries in the world women outnumber men. There are more women in Europe and North America. This is due to the military losses of the male population and the improvement of the position of women in society. In Africa, Australia, Oceania, and Latin America, the number of women and men is approximately the same. In overseas Asia there are more men than women. For example: in China there are 31 million, in India there are 24 million more men. In the Gulf countries there are more than 10% more men. The age composition of the population is related with the concepts of childhood, youth, maturity, old age. In developed countries, the share of children is 18%, elderly people 19%, in developing countries 33% and 8%, respectively. Age is the main criterion in determining the main productive part of the population. The productive part of the population is labor resources. In the world to economically active population 49% can be attributed. In Russia, Europe, North America this figure is 50-60% (high employment in production of the female part of the population) In the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America 40-45% (high share of the child population, low share of female labor) The economically inactive population is called demographic load . In developed countries it is approximately 50%; in developing countries it reaches 100%. Currently, scientists assume active aging of the world population. This process is also called “demographic winter.” The process is especially acute in the most developed countries of the world.

Population distribution. The main indicator characterizing the distribution of the population is population density (PD). It is calculated as the ratio of the population size (PN) in a country (region) to the area of ​​its territory (S) and is expressed as the number of inhabitants per 1 km 2 (person/km 2) i.e. according to the PN formula. =CN:S For example: The USA has an area of ​​9364 thousand. km 2 Population 322613000 people. US population density =34.4

Racial composition The world population has not undergone much change. There are three main races in the world - Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid, and currently the fourth race - Australoid, is generally recognized by all scientists in the world. Due to the mixing of the population, intermediate racial groups were formed. Mestizos (children born as a result of marriages of Europeans and Indians) Mulattoes (children born as a result of marriages of Negroids and Europeans) Sambo (children born as a result of marriages of Negroids and Indians) Ethnic picture of the world extraordinarily diverse! There are up to 4 thousand different peoples in the world. About half of the world's states are single-national. (if people of one nation make up 90% of the population of a given country) Classification is carried out according to the principle of linguistic proximity. Language families are the largest unit of measurement for the peoples of the world. The largest is the Indo-European family - 2.5 billion people. In second place is the Chinese-Tibetan one. There are about 6 thousand languages ​​in the world. But, unfortunately, assimilation processes annually take away up to 10 languages. Nationalism - the most terrible weapon of the post-industrial world. The most dangerous points are (ISIS), today the most powerful, well-known and “mysterious” terrorist organization on the planet. It suddenly appeared in the spring of 2013, when militants unknown to the world suddenly began to seize cities and entire provinces in pro-American Iraq, shooting prisoners en masse. The conflict occurred between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and government forces, as well as other religious and ethnic groups in the country. Thus, ISIS terrorists announced that they were going to create an Islamic state – a caliphate – in the territories of Syria and Iraq. The Autonomy of Iraqi Kurdistan took advantage of the difficult situation in the country. During ISIS offensives, the Kurds seized control of several major oil production areas. And today they announced a referendum and secession from Iraq. Since the creation of the State of Israel in 1949, the Arab-Israeli conflict has flared up. Conflicts between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have flared up again and again for decades. The main reason is the reluctance of the parties to listen to each other's arguments. Sahel region (North Africa) The crisis began back in 2012, when, due to military operations taking place in Libya, Tuaregs poured into Mali en masse. In the northern part of the country they formed a state called Azawad. However, less than a year later, a military coup broke out in the self-proclaimed power. Taking advantage of the situation, France sent its troops into Mali to help fight the Tuaregs and radical Islamists who control the area. In general, today the Sahel has turned into a stronghold of the slave trade, drug trafficking, and arms sales. Separatist ambitions of the Basques and Tibetans, religious struggle in Cyprus and Northern Ireland. The conflict in Ukraine is painful for the Russian Federation. Pro-Russian activists, dissatisfied with the situation in the state, formed the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics in the East of Ukraine. The government, led by President Poroshenko, sent the army against the separatists. The fighting took place on the territory of Donbass. There is a serious danger of conflicts escalating into active hostilities.

Analysis of population distribution is an important task in population geography. Most often it is determined by the number of inhabitants per 1 square kilometer.

Topic: Man on planet Earth

Lesson: Population Distribution on Planet Earth

How people are located on the earth's surface.

What reasons influence the distribution of people on the planet? .

People are distributed extremely unevenly on the planet (see Fig. 1). Approximately 1/10 of the land is still uninhabited (Antarctica, almost all of Greenland, and so on).

The main indicator characterizing the distribution of the population is population density. The average population density of the Earth is 40 people/km 2 . However, the uneven distribution of population in different regions and countries of the world is enormous. The population density indicator ranges from tenths to 2000 people/km 2 .

Population density is the number of inhabitants per 1 km² of territory.

The population density of Foreign Europe and Asia is more than 100 people/km2, in North and South America - about 20 people/km2, and in Australia and Oceania - no more than 4 people/km2.

According to other estimates, about half of the land has a density of less than 1 person per square kilometer; for 1/4 the density ranges from 1 to 10 people per 1 square kilometer. km, and only the rest of the land has a density of more than 10 people per 1 square kilometer. On the populated part of the Earth (ecumene), the average population density is 32 people per square meter. km.

80% live in the eastern hemisphere, 90% live in the northern hemisphere, and 60% of the total population of the Earth lives in Asia.

Rice. 1. Countries that hold the record for population density

Obviously, there is a group of countries with a very high population density - over 200 people per square kilometer. It includes countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Israel, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Republic of Korea, Rwanda, El Salvador, etc.

In a number of countries, the density indicator is close to the world average - in Ireland, Iraq, Colombia, Malaysia, Morocco, Tunisia, Mexico, etc.

Some countries have lower density rates than the world average - in them it is no more than 2 people per 1 km 2. This group includes Mongolia, Libya, Mauritania, Namibia, Guiana, Australia, Greenland, etc.

People are unevenly distributed across the planet's hemispheres. Most of them live in the northern (90%) and eastern (85%) hemispheres. The distribution of the population varies among individual continents, their parts, and especially among countries of the world.

The uneven distribution of population on the planet is explained by a number of factors.

Warmth and moisture, topography and soil fertility, and sufficient air are of great importance for human life. Therefore, cold and dry areas, as well as high mountains, are sparsely populated.

Rice. 2. City on the plain

Firstly, it is the natural environment. For example, it is known that 1/2 of the world's population is concentrated in lowlands (see Fig. 3).

Since ancient times, humanity has gravitated towards the sea (see Fig. 2). The proximity to it made it possible to obtain food and conduct economic activities related to marine fishing. Sea routes opened up the possibility of communication with other regions of the Earth. Although they make up less than 30% of the landmass; 1/3 of the people live at a distance of no more than 50 kilometers from the sea (the area of ​​this strip is 12% of the land), - the population seems to be shifted towards the sea. This factor has probably been the leading one throughout human history, but its influence weakens with socio-economic development. And although vast areas with extreme and unfavorable natural conditions (deserts, tundras, highlands, tropical forests, etc.) are still poorly populated, natural factors alone cannot explain the expansion of ecumene areas and those huge shifts in the distribution of people who have occurred over the last century.

Rice. 3. City by the ocean

Secondly, the historical factor has a fairly strong influence. This is due to the duration of the process of human settlement on Earth (about 30-40 thousand years).

Thirdly, the distribution of the population is affected by the current demographic situation. Thus, in some countries the population is growing very quickly due to high natural growth.

In addition, within any country or region, no matter how small, the population density is different and varies greatly depending on the level of development of the productive forces. It follows that average population density indicators provide only an approximate idea of ​​the population and economic potential of the country.

Homework

Read § 12. Answer the questions:

Why is the average population density of the Earth constantly increasing?

What reasons influence the placement of people?

References

MainI

1. Geography. Land and people. 7th grade: Textbook for general education. uch. / A.P. Kuznetsov, L.E. Savelyeva, V.P. Dronov, series “Spheres”. - M.: Education, 2011.

2. Geography. Land and people. 7th grade: atlas, “Spheres” series.

Additional

1. N.A. Maksimov. Behind the pages of a geography textbook. - M.: Enlightenment.

Literature for preparing for the State Exam and the Unified State Exam

1. Tests. Geography. 6-10 grades: Educational and methodological manual / A. A. Letyagin. - M.: LLC "Agency "KRPA "Olympus": Astrel, AST, 2007. - 284 p.

2. Textbook on geography. Tests and practical assignments in geography / I. A. Rodionova. - M.: Moscow Lyceum, 1996. - 48 p.

3. Geography. Answers to questions. Oral examination, theory and practice / V. P. Bondarev. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2009. - 160 p.

4. Thematic tests to prepare for the final certification and the Unified State Exam. Geography. - M.: Balass, ed. House of RAO, 2011. - 160 p.

2. Russian Geographical Society ().

4. Textbook on geography ().

5. Gazetteer ().

The population density in these areas reaches several hundred people per 1 km2, while the average population density of the Earth is 40 people per square kilometer, and 15% of the land is not inhabited at all.

This uneven distribution of the population is caused by a number of interrelated factors: natural (poor development of territories with unfavorable natural conditions), historical (the earlier a person developed a territory, the greater his number), demographic (the higher the number, the greater the number) and socio-economic (the better the territory has been developed, the network has been developed, industry has been developed, etc.).

Based on the nature of settlement, the world's population can be divided into urban and rural.

Urban settlement

Cities arose in ancient times as centers of administrative power, trade and craft. The definition of a city varies from country to country. For example, in the USA, a city is considered to be a settlement of over 2.5 thousand people, in India - over 5 thousand, in Japan - 30 thousand, and in, and - only more than 200 people.

Currently, cities are becoming the main form of human settlement, as evidenced by changes in the ratio of urban and rural populations over the past few years.

The process of urban population growth, an increase in the number of cities and their strengthening, and an increasing role of cities in the modern world is called. Nowadays, urbanized areas occupy 1% of the land, but they are already home to 45% of the population.

This process is characterized by:

• rapid growth of cities;
• urban sprawl, the formation of urban agglomerations;
• concentration of population in large cities.

Particularly noteworthy are millionaire cities, the number of which has exceeded 300. Closely located cities often merge to form agglomerations. Examples of urban agglomerations include Sao Paulo, Tokyo, New York, and Moscow.

The main problems of urbanization are:

• environmental (cities produce up to 80% of all emissions, “throwing” into the environment up to 3 billion tons of solid waste, over 500 cubic meters of household waste);
• the spontaneity and uncontrollability of this process, which leads to the emergence of the so-called false or “slum” urbanization.