What is a population?
Population refers to all the people living in an area, region or country
What is carrying capacity?
It is the largest population that the resources of a given environment can support.
When the carrying capacity of land improved, the population increased.
What is population distribution?
The way the population is spread out over a given area, from a small region to the Earth as a whole.
What is an optimum population?
The size of population that permits the full utilization of the natural resources of an area, giving maximum per capita output and standard of living.
What is overpopulation?
An Increase in population or decrease in natural resources leading to a decrease in standards of living for the population as a whole. This is related to the carrying capacity which is the maximum intensity of use that a resource can sustain without an un-acceptable deterioration of living standards.
What is Underpopulation?
The population is too small to develop its resources effectively.
What is the impact of overpopulation?
- Congestion in cities
- Increase in crime rates due to unemployment
- Breakdown of infrastructural facilities and uncontrolled rise in the number of people causes socio-economic chaos and disequilibrium
- More environmental pollution (Can be water, air, land, or noise pollution)
- Health and sanitation if the urban citizens suffer
- Manual labor becomes cheap and increases.
- Class conflict sets in due to huge differences in the standards of living
What is the impact of Underpopulation?
- Less manual labor
- Underutilisation of natural resources
- Slow growth of the economy due to a lack of demand and supply
- Low standards of living
Factors controlling population concentration:
Natural and Physical factors
- Climate: People choose to settle in areas with favorable climates. These places are the tropics and temperates. This is why hot and cold places have a sparse and scattered populations.
- Relief: (Topography) Flat plains and gentle slopes are preferred over-rugged, high-elevated grounds as they are easy to navigate. These places are favorable for construction, and transportation
- Soil types: Fertile soil boosts agriculture. Hence, the density of the population in these places is also high. Example - Bangladesh Delta and Brahmaputra Basin
- Availability of water: Places near rivers and other water bodies are usually populated due to the importance of water. Early civilizations flourished along rivers.
Factors Controlling population concentration:
Socio-economic factors
- Urbanization: Urban areas offer more facilities (Education, job, etc). As a result, people from rural areas move to cities, eventually leading to a substantial increase in the city population
- Industrialisation: People prefer places with more job opportunities. Industrial areas have improved transport networks. Ex: Mumbai-Pune Industrial Region, and Hoogly industrial belt
- Social and Cultural factors: (Migration) People tend to live in places with social and political stability and move away from political unrest. Ex: Civil war in Syria
What is the Birth rate
The rate at which births take place in a particular population. It is also known as the natality rate.
What is the Crude Birth Rate?
Crude Birth Rate (CBR) is generally expressed as the number of births taking place for every 1000 individuals in a year.
CBR = Live births in a year/Estimated population at mid-year * 1000.
What is Death Rate?
The rate of occurrence of death. It is also called Mortality Rate.
What is Crude Death Rate?
CDR is expressed as the number of deaths occurring per 1000 individuals in a year.
CDR = Number of deaths/Estimated population at mid-year * 100
What is Migration
Movement of people from one place to another
What is Immigration?
It is the entry of people permanently into a place or country. (People coming into the country). Increases the size of the population
What is Emigration?
It is the permanent movement of people from a country or region. (People leaving the country). Decreases the size of the population.
Composition of population
Citizens are distributed according to age, sex, urban/rural status, literacy, marital status.
Age composition
0-14 yrs (Dependent population
15-59 yrs (Working/production population)
60+ (Dependent population
- A higher working population is an asset to a country
- More children = High Birth rate = High dependency ratio
- Ageing population = More health care facilities required.
Sex composition
It is the number of females per 1000 males in the population.
What is the Rural population
It refers to the people residing in villages. The percentage of the rural population is higher in farm-based agricultural countries
What is the Urban population?
Refers to the people living in cities. Industrially developed regions have a higher share of the urban population
What is a population Pyramid?
A graphic method used to show the age and sex composition of a population simultaneously is called the population pyramid or the age-sex pyramid.
What are the types of population pyramids?
- Expansive - Those with a broad base
- Constructive - Those with a broad center
- Stationary - Those with a broad peak
