Population Density Activity
Possible Countries
Canada
Japan
Bangladesh
India
Vocabulary
United States
Netherlands
Egypt
Agriculture: farming
Arable land: land that can be farmed
Inference: a conclusion based on available facts
Statistics
Statistic
Arithmetic Density
Calculation
People / sq km
Questions It Can Help Answer
How dense is the country?
Physiological Density
People / sq km of arable land
Agricultural Density
Farmers / sq km of arable land
How crowded are the inhabited parts?
How much farmland is there to support the population?
How industrialized is the country?
Other Questions to Ask:
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Is the country primarily agricultural or industrialized?
Is the country mostly usable flatlands, or mostly mountain/desert/etc.?
Population Density Activity
# Population (millions) Total Farmers Land Area (million sq km) Density (people / sq km) Total Arable Arithmetic Physiological Agricultural 1 127.4 6.4 5% 0.38 0.04 12% 2 161.1 101.5 63% 0.14 0.08 55% 3 34.3 1.0 3% 9.98 0.70 4 313.8 3.1 1% 9.83 1.77 18% 5 16.7 0.7 4% 0.04 0.01 22% 6 1,205.1 723.1 60% 3.29 1.61 49% 7 83.7 26.8 32% 1.00 0.03 7% 3% Country (Guess) Sources: CIA World Factbook (www.cia.gov); percentage farmers from An Introduction to Human Geography (J. Rubenstein)
Population Density Activity (answers)
# Population (millions) Total Farmers Land Area (million sq km) Density (people / sq km) Total Arable Arithmetic Physiological Agricultural 1 127.4 6.4 5% 0.38 0.04 12% 335 3,185 160 Japan 2 161.1 101.5 63% 0.14 0.08 55% 1,151 2,014 1,269 Bangladesh 3 34.3 1.0 3% 9.98 0.70 3 49 1 Canada 4 313.8 3.1 1% 9.83 1.77 18% 32 177 2 US 5 16.7 0.7 4% 0.04 0.01 22% 418 1,670 70 Netherlands 6 1,205.1 723.1 60% 3.29 1.61 49% 366 749 449 India 7 83.7 26.8 32% 1.00 0.03 84 2,790 893 Egypt 7% 3% Country Sources: CIA World Factbook (www.cia.gov); percentage of farmers from An Introduction to Human Geography (J. Rubenstein)
Total Population / Total Land Area = Arithmetic Density [How dense is the country?]
Total Population / Arable Land Area = Physiological Density [How dense are parts of the country where people actually live?]
Farmers / Arable Land Area = Agricultural Density [How industrialized is the country?]
How do you guess which country is which? Here are some clues:
1) What % are farmers? A higher percentage of farmers indicates a less industrialized nation (e.g., #2, #6 and #7).
Agricultural Density is also a clue to level of industrialization (#2, #6, and #7 are all high – many farmers per sq km). So
these are probably Bangladesh, India and Egypt. All the other countries on the choice list are quite industrialized.
2) What is the total population? Of the three, only one has population over 1 billion (#6), so that must be India.
3) What is the % of arable land? #7 has 3% arable land, so 97% of the country is unsuitable for farming. That sounds like
Egypt (people living along the Nile River). #2, with 63% arable land, doesn’t fit that picture, but it does sound like
Bangladesh, which is mostly flatland. This could also give you a clue between #3 (Canada, 7% arable because most of
Canada is cold) and #4 (the US, 18% arable because more of the US is temperate.)
Agricultural Density:
There was confusion in class regarding Agricultural Density. Think of it this way: In an industrialized nation, farmers use huge
machines to plant and harvest crops, so three or four farmers can work huge areas of land. In less industrialized countries,
farmers have no machines and rely on themselves and animals to work the land, so each farmer can farm a much smaller area
(high Agricultural Density).
High Agricultural Density (Indonesia)
Low Agricultural Density (Canada)