HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

DISTRIBUTION OF WORLD POPULATION :-

Human beings are very unevenly spread over the earth's surface. The greater part of the land surface is practically uninhabited, while large areas are very thinly peopled. Most of the world's population is concentrated in about 25 per cent of the earth's surface. The greatest numbers, about 90 per cent, lie in the Northern Hemisphere and even here, nearly 60 percent live in between latitude 10° and 40° North. The most crowded continents are Asia and Europe. Together they have 70 percent of the world's population;

No single factor can explain the uneven distribution of population. However, a comparison of the world maps of population density with those of physical features, rainfall, temperature and natural vegetation will at once suggest that geographical factors are the most important. People have inhabited those areas where natural conditions have been favourable for human activities.

The stage of technical development plays an important role in the density of population. The progress made in the use of the products of mining and the development of large-scale manufacturing has enabled parts of western Europe (for example, Britain, France, Belgium Netherlands and Germany) and the north-eastern region of the U.S. to support a dense population.

Historical factor are also responsible for higher density of population in some areas. Areas which have been inhabited since ancient times have dense population. Examples of these are the valleys of the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, the Yangtze and the Ganges.

SPARSELY POPULATED REGIONS :-

1. The Tundra regions : The Tundra regions have low temperatures and low precipitation which are not favorable for plant growth. Only scattered nomadic peoples, such as the Eskimos are found here. The northern most parts of North America, Eurasia and Greenland are too cold. The Antarctica is uninhabited. Towns are mainly in the mining areas such as Gallivare in Sweden (for iron ore), Fairbanks in Alaska (for mineral oil and gold), Murmansk in Siberia (a mining and trading centre).

2. Coniferous forest regions: There are large areas in the northern hemisphere where winters are very cold and rainfall is relatively low. Swamps cover large areas and farming is difficult. There are small settlements dependent on timber industries (Finland) and minding (iron ore at Knob Lake in Labrador).

3. The Equatorial Regions of -the Amazon and Congo Basins: They are generally unfavorable because of high temperatures and heavy rainfall. In the dense forests tribal people depend on hunting and gathering. In areas cleared for faring and mining the population is considerable, for example, parts of Indonesia and the Philippines where the population densities are quite high.

4. Tropical and Temperate Deserts: The absence of water prevents the growth of vegetation which could provide food for men and animals. Deserts (Sahara, Arabian, Thar, Kalahari, Atacama, Great Australian) occupy large parts of the continents. Temperate deserts such as the Gobi are also very thinly populated. People are concentrated in irrigated regions of the river valleys (Nile Valley, Tigris-Euphrates Valley) or in the mining centres, e.g., Middle East (mineral oil), Kalgoorlie in Australia (gold).

5. Mountains and High plateaus: Mountains and many high plateaus of the the world are less favorable for human settlement, because of their ruggedness, unsuitable climate and difficulties of transport (Tibet, Andes, Rockies, and the Himalayas). However, some highlands, particularly plateaus in Africa and the Andes support considerable population, mainly because of mineral wealth.

DENSELY POPULATED REGIONS :-

1. Eastern and Southern Asia: Nearly half the inhabitants of the world live here. The concentration is the greatest in the low-lying regions such as the river valleys and deltas and the fertile coastal plains where there is sufficient water for irrigation. In Eastern Asia it includes China, Japan and Korea. In South Asia it includes India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam and Java.

2. The Northwestern and Central Europe: This is the world's highly industrialized zone. Nearly one-sixth of the world's population is found here. It includes Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Northern Italy and European Russia. Abundant mineral resources, high industrial development and advanced farming methods are the major factors.

3. The North-Eastern U.S.A.: This region has favorable climate, fertile soil, mineral deposits, especially coal and iron ore and a good network of railways, roads and canals. The area lies between Baltimore and Boston and includes such large cities as Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York and Philadelphia. In addition to the major areas of dense population mentioned above, there are many smaller areas of very thick population, such as the Nile valley.

Demographic Structure : Sex ratio, age composition, literacy rate, occupational structure are some of the aspects of demographic structure which can be measured and are quantifiable.

Age and Sex Ratio: Age is an important component in demographic structure. If the number of children is large in the population of a country, the chances of the increase of population in future are more. The potential availability of labour is also high. If the number of children in the age-group of 0-14 Yrs, and of the people above 55 years of age is large, it would mean that the size of dependent population large.

The size of population in lower age groups is large in those regions where birth rates are higher e.g. in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In those countries where birth rate is low but life expectancy is high, the number of children is lower but the number of older people is higher.

Sex ratio refers to the ratio of males and females. It is measured in terms of number of males per thousand females.

In those countries, where death rates of male and female children are similar because equal care is taken in bringing up the male and female children, the sex ratio is generally balanced. Besides the differential birth and death rates, the male out migration also causes imbalance in the sex ratio.

Age-Sex Composition : Age and sex ratio is very well represented by age pyramid. In most of the developing countries, the base of the age-sex pyramid is found to be broad and the apex to be narrow. It means children are more and older people are less in numbers. In France, Sweden and some other European countries the base and the central part of the pyramid are of the· same width· which means that the number of children and middle aged people are the same due to low birth rate. Age pyramid also reflects the future trend of the population in an area. The availability and maturity of human resources depend upon size of the population between 15 to 55 years of age. Therefore,- significant clues for human resource planning can be obtained by studying these·pyramids.

Literacy : Besides the size of population, the quality of human resource is an important aspect. Literary reflects that social aspect f population by which its quality can be ascertained. There is a wide variation in the literacy rates in the world. The literacy is higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas throughout the world. Likewise the female literacy in rural areas is much lower than the female literacy in urban areas. Major factors influencing literacy rate are, level of economic development, level of urbanization, standard of living, the status of females and other groups in the society, the availability of educational facilities and the policies of the government. Level of economic development is both a cause and an effect of literacy. Higher level of literacy reflects higher level of economic development.

Urban and Rural Population : The population is divided into urban or rural on the basis of the residence. The urban population increases due to natural growth as well as due to migration of people from rural areas. The higher employment opportunities, availability of different types of social facilities and higher standard of living in urban

areas attract the rural population. High urban population is an indicator of economic development of a country. Most of the developed countries have higher proportion of urban population e.g. United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom and Belgium. On contrary, countries with lower levels of economic development such as Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan have about 15, 14,20,' 18, 25 and 29 per cent of their total population as Urban population. Generally, industrially developed countries have higher share of urban population as industrialization and urbanization are positively correlated.

Occupational Structure of Population : Occupational structure of population refers to the proportional distribution of people under specific economic activities in any region. United Nations has identified the following categories of occupations.

Agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing;
- Minding and quarrying
- Manufacturing industry
- Construction;
- Electricity, gas, water and health services
- Commerce
- Transport, storage and communication services
- Unclassified occupations.

This,classification is essential for international comparisons but each country classified its population in different occupational categories. according to its own needs.