Population distribution and density – factors, arithmetic, physiological and agricultural density, carrying capacity

What it shows

Population is spread very unevenly: most people live in East Asia, South Asia, Europe and eastern North America, while deserts, polar lands, rainforests and high mountains are almost empty. Physical factors (relief, climate, water, soils) and human factors (cities, jobs, transport, history) explain much of this pattern. Arithmetic density divides population by land area; physiological density divides it by arable land; agricultural density divides the number of farmers by arable land. Comparing them reveals pressure on farmland and how mechanised farming is. A simple carrying-capacity model compares each region's population with the food its land can produce.

How to use

On Density map, choose a Factor layer and tap the map to read the density and the factors at that point. On Compare countries, tap the country buttons, choose Sort by and Country, and tap a bar to see the worked calculation. On Carrying capacity, choose Region, Year and Diet, then move Yield change and Doctor growth to 2050.

Parameters you can change

• Screen Density map, Compare countries, Carrying capacity
• Factor layer on the map No factor layer, Relief, Climate, Rivers and coasts, Soils, Large cities, Jobs and economy, Transport, History of settlement
• Country in focus (Compare screen) China, India, United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico, Japan, Ethiopia, Egypt, DR Congo, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Kenya, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Mongolia
• Sort by type of density Arithmetic density, Physiological density, Agricultural density
• Region (Carrying capacity screen) Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa and Western Asia, Central and Southern Asia, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Northern America, Oceania
• Year (Carrying capacity screen) 2022, 2050 (projection)
• Change in cereal yield -50–100 %
• Diet Mostly plant-based, World average, Meat-rich
• Growth in the number of doctors by 2050 0–150 %

Questions to explore

1. Why do most people in Egypt live on a narrow strip along the Nile?
2. Why are the Netherlands and Bangladesh both densely populated but very different in agricultural density?
3. Which region faces the greatest population pressure in 2050, and how could it reduce that pressure?