Where is it Distributed and Why?

Ecumene: areas of permanent human settlement• Temperate climate regions, land suitable for

farming, concentrated around water sources

Nonecumene – areas not permanently settled: deserts, polar regions, tropical rainforests, high mountains.

Fig. 2-3: The ecumene, or the portion of the earth with permanent human settlement, has expanded to cover most of the world’s land area.

75% live on just 5% of the Earth’s surface, and almost humans all live on about 20% of the Earth’s surface

90% of world population lives north of the Equator

66% lives in mid-latitudes (30-60o)

66% of world population lives within 300 miles of a coast

75% live on just 5% of the Earth’s surface, and almost humans all live on about 20% of the Earth’s surface

6) Pakistan: 177 million7) *Nigeria: 162 million8) Bangladesh: 154

million9) Russia: 143 million10) Japan: 128 million

1) China: 1.35 billion2) India: 1.24 billion3) United States: 312 million4) Indonesia: 238 million5) Brazil: 197 million

*Nigeria moved up a place from 8th into 7th between 2008 & 2011.

1) India 1.69 billion2) China 1.313 billion3) Nigeria 433 million4) US 423 million5) Pakistan 314 million6) Indonesia 309 million7) Bangladesh 226 million8) Brazil 223 million9) Ethiopia 174 million10)Philippines 150 million

East Asia: Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea• 1/5 of world pop here, 2/3 of China in rural areas, ¾ of

Japan/Korea in cities

South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (2nd largest concentration)• 1/5 of world pop here–mostly rural, though highly

concentrated urban centers

Europe• 1/9 of world pop here– less than 20% farmers, most

food imported despite excellent climate (3rd largest concentration)

SE Asia(Islands in between Indian and Pacific Oceans) (4th largest concentration)• Comprised of mainly farmers in rural areas

NE US and Canada• “Megalopolis” from Boston, MA to Baltimore, MD

West Africa- Especially along South facing Atlantic Coast

World Population Distribution by Region, 1800–2050

                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                             Source: United Nations Population Division, Briefing Packet, 1998 Revision of World Population Prospects; and World Population Prospects, The 2006 Revision.

East Asia: 1,531,000,000

South Asia: 1,433,300,000

Southeast Asia: 548,000,000

http://www.worldmapper.org/animations/wm01to02.html

Fig. 2-1: This cartogram displays countries by the size of their population rather than their land area. (Only countries with 50 million or more people are named.)

• Arithmetic Density: total # of objects in an area

• Physiological Density: # of persons per unit of arable land

• Agricultural Density: # of farmers per unit of farmland

Fig. 2-4: Arithmetic population density is the number of people per total land area. The highest densities are found in parts of Asia and Europe.

Fig. 2-5: Physiological density is the number of people per arable land area. This is a good measure of the relation between population and agricultural resources in a society.