Where Do People Live?

1. Where Do People Live? Chapter 3, Section 1

2. Reach Into Your Background • Would you like to live in a city or in the country? • List some interesting things you could do if you lived far from a city. • List the things you would enjoy most about a city.

3. What is Population Distribution? • The world’s population (total number of people) is spread unevenly over the Earth’s surface. • New York City vs. Sahara Desert • Population distribution  describes the way the population is spread out over the Earth • The reasons population is distributed as it is may seem unclear. • Demographers  study the populations of the world • Examine birth, marriage, death • Why do people choose to live in a certain area?

4. Uneven Population Distribution • Landforms  affect where people live • Few people can live in mountainous or hot deserts with dry land • Many factors make a location a good place for people to live. • Bodies of water  trade and travel; fresh water (drinking and farming) • Flat coastal areas • Flat, fertile soil  grow food and build easily • Plains and valleys

5. Uneven Population Distribution • Other factors • Climate  temperate; adequate rainfall • Abundant natural resources  build houses and make products • Maps on Pgs. 56-57 in textbook

6. Populous Continents • Because of these factors, 81% of the Earth’s people (4.9 billion people) live in Asia, Europe, and North America. • These 3 continents = 53% of world’s land • Fertile soil, plains, valleys, fresh water, rich in natural resources, good climates

7. Not Populous Continents • Other continents have smaller populations partly because it’s hard to live there. • Australia = 3 million square miles (size of the continental U.S.) but only 19 million people live there • About the same number of people live in the state of New York • Australia’s environment  mostly desert/dry grassland; few rivers/little rainfall • Most people live along the coasts.

8. Not Populous Continents • Africa  landforms and climate limit population • 20% of the world’s land, but only 13% of world’s population. • 2 of the world’s largest deserts (north and south) • Broad bands of land with little rain • Rainforest long the equator • Many people live along narrow coasts

9. Not Populous Continents • South Africa  population limited by landforms and climates • 340 million people • Live along the Atlantic coast • Soaring mountains, vast dry plains, thick rain forests

10. World Population Distribution

11. Population Density • Population Density  the average number of people who live in a square mile • High density country = people crowded together • Japan has one of the highest population densities in the world. • Almost all of its 126 million people live on only 16% of the land. • Tokyo  more than 25,000 people per square mile

12. Japan’s Population Density (2011)

13. Population Density • Canada = low population density • 9 people per square mile • Canada is bigger than the United States, but only 31 million people live there. • (Japan has 95 million more people.) • Cool climate and short growing season affect population.

14. Canada’s Population Density (2002)

15. Studying Population Density • Demographers divide the number of people living in a place by the number of square miles of that place. • California • Population = 33,871,648 people • Land Area = 155,973 square miles • Average Population Density = 217.2 people per square mile

16. California’s Population Density (2010)

17. Studying Population Density • On a world population density map, different colors show areas with heavy population. • Population Density Map vs. Physical Map worksheet • Compare the landforms to the population density. • Where do people tend to live? • Some people do live in areas most of us would find uncomfortable – frozen Arctic regions; herders • People have developed ways of life suited to their environment over many generations.