Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD
World Population
The World’s population reached 7,1 billion people in 2013.
Population Explosion
Asia accounts for over 60% of the world’s population with 4 billion people living there.
China and India together make up about 37% of the world’s population.
Hong Kong Skyscrapers
Asian Family
Hungry Families
Attribution: Paul Prescott/Shutterstock.com
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Dense Population
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Africa is home to 1,1 billion people (around 15% of the total world population), Europe – 742
million (around10%), North America – 529 million (around 7%), South America – 386 million
(around 5%) and Australia – 35 million (less than 1%).
World Population by Country
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Most Populated Countries
Country
Population
1. People’s Republic of China
2. India
3. United States
4. Indonesia
5. Brazil
6. Pakistan
7. Bangladesh
8. Nigeria
9. Russia
10. Japan
1,342,750,000
1,195,020,000
310,953,000
238,400,000
194,333,000
172,028,000
164,425,000
158,259,000
141,927,297
127,380,000
% of World
Population
19,4%
17,3%
4,5%
3,39%
2,82%
2,49%
2,38%
2,29%
2,06%
1,84%
Over 4 billion people occupy these 10 countries, representing 58% of the total world
population.
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Most Populated Cities
The map below shows the most populated cities in the world.
Population Distribution
People do not live evenly spread across the world. For example, most of the interior of
Australia is very sparsely populated, whist some coastal areas, such as Perth have a high
population density.
The map below shows that people are not distributed evenly across the globe. In certain areas
there is a larger concentration of people than elsewhere.
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Map Showing Cities with Population Over 1 Million People
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Attribution Share-Alike: Anwar Saadat
Population Density
Population density refers to the number of people who live in a certain country or area. This
can tell you how crowded the country or area is.
Population density can be calculated as follows:
Population of an area divided by the total area in sq km.
For example
To calculate the population density of Canada which has a population of 31,281,092 and a land
area of 9,220,970 km²:
= 31,281,092 ÷ 9,220,970 = 3,4
So Canada has a population density of 3,4.
The world’s total population density (taking only land
area into account) is 47 people per sq km. However, as
Antarctica has a zero population, if its land area is taken
out of the equation, the world’s population density is
around 50 people per sq km.
Antarctica
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Density is a gauge to measure the amount of people across land and obviously the density of
any country varies from region to region. Therefore population density can be looked per city
and compared to other cities and the country as a whole.
Very small countries usually have high population density. Monaco has a density of 18,005
people per square kilometer and Macau is the most densely populated region in the world with
a density of 20,497 people per square kilometer, in 2013.
However, Bangladesh is a large country, which is densely populated at 1 033 people per sq km.
Densely Populated, China
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Macau - The Most Densely Populated Region
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Countries can have a low population density if they have a large land area, for example,
Canada, or a very small population, for example, Mongolia or a fairly large population but a
significantly larger land area, for example, Australia.
Bangladesh – High Population Density
Mongolia – Low Population Density
Areas which have a high population density tend to be located between 20°N and 60°N, as this
region has a large land area and a relatively temperate climate.
The population density of the continents is shown below:
Continent
North America
South America
Europe
Asia
Africa
Australia
Antarctica
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Population
Density
32
73
134
202
65
7
0
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Factors that Affect Global Settlement
There are just over 7,1 billion people on planet Earth and they only inhabit approximately 15%
of the surface of the earth. There are certain factors which influence where people live.
Natural Factors
Climate
Pleasant temperatures (between 10 ºC and 30 ºC), comfortable humidity and adequate rainfall
to grow crops attract people.
Pleasant Temperature
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Vineyard Crops
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Areas that have extremes of hot and cold temperatures andvery wet or dry weather conditions,
tend to be sparsely populated and extreme circumstances such as windstorms or very high
rainfall tend to be more sparsely populated.
Relief (Shape and Height of Land)
There tends to be a high population density in low and flat areas, such as the Ganges Valley in
India, and a low population density in high, mountainous areas, such as the Himalayas. Places
that are remote and difficult to reach also have a low population density.
Himalayas - Low Population Density
Global Elevation Map
Wikimedia Public Domain
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Resources
People go where their basic needs can be addressed. Food and water are the most important of
these needs. Infertile land(which is unable to produce crops), leads to low population densities.
In fertile areas, many small farms can supply a large population.
People Settle in Fertile Areas
Areas rich in natural resources, e.g., coal, oil, wood, fishing etc., are more densely populated,
for example, Western Europe. Areas that have few resources are sparsely populated.
A good water supply also leads to a high population density.
River Thames, London
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Nile River, Egypt
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Human Factors
Economy
People will settle where they can earn money (often in spite of an unpleasant climate). Good
job opportunities encourage a high population density.
Wikimedia Public Domain
A person’s standard of living tells you how well off they are. Countries that have a high
standard of living are mainly found in the northern part of the world and are called developed
countries, for example, Canada, France and Sweden.
Countries that have a low standard of living are found in the southern part of the world and are
called developing countries. Many countries in Africa are developing countries.
Champs-Elysées, Paris, France
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Khayelitsha, Western Cape, South Africa
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Geography: Grade 6
Population: People Around the World
Political decisions
Decisions made by the government of a country can make circumstances very unpleasant for
the inhabitants, which cause migration of people elsewhere. Countries with a stable
government tend to have higher population densities, for example, Singapore. Unstable
countries have lower population densities as people migrate, for example, Afghanistan.
Interesting Facts:

Approximately 90% of the world’s population lives in the northern hemisphere.

Approximately 60% of the world’s population lives in areas that are lower than 200 m
above
sea level.
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