How far do physical factors affect global population distribution?

Global Population Distribution by Atif Khan 10S

Global Population Distribution is the spread of people across the world. It can be an even spread or an uneven spread, and it depends on physical and human factors. Human factors include transport, infrastructure, government and employment. Physical factors are climate, relief, water supplies, soil type and resources.

Across the world’s surface area, most people are living in only small sections of land. This is because not all land has an equal potential for life. Examples of countries with very large populations are India and China. 2 in 6 people across the globe are either Indian or Chinese! However, in a country such as Afghanistan this population density is much lower.

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We will first study the physical factors that affect population. We will begin with climate. Average Annual Temperatures are important factors of population distribution. If the weather is too hot or too cold, people won’t be able to live there. However, if there are no extremes of climate like this, countries are more likely to do well. An example of this is Western Europe. However, extremes of climate are not the only type of climate to affect population distribution. If a country is cold, for example, people are usually more likely to spend money on housing to provide shelter, using up money that could be used for other purposes. Also, rainfall is important. If a country/region receives little rainfall, it is unlikely to support a large population density. An example of such a place is the Sahara Desert, where there is very little rainfall and it is difficult to live.

Another factor affecting population distribution is Relief. For example, if a region is very mountainous, it is unlikely for a large population density to exist. These mountain constraints include difficulty in breathing, hardship in building structures and the possibility of landslide.

Another physical factor is water supply. If a country/region has a poor water supply, people will find it difficult to live there, and try their best to move to a more suitable location, for example near the coastline. Another factor is what resources a country/region has. An example is that heavy industry often builds itself around large natural fuel reserves e.g. coalfields. Once such heavy industry has been completed, workers will try to live near the factories and will buy houses near the industry, resulting in a higher population density than other areas. Another factor affecting population distribution is Soil. If the soil is fertile, it is easier to farm the land, allowing for a larger population density. Examples of very fertile land are places where volcanic alluvial (or riversilt) are present. In these areas, population density is usually high.

Overall, I would say that physical factors have a major effect on population distribution. There are few countries that do not follow the pattern of restraints created by physical factors, but these are just exceptions.

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Molly Reynolds

17th of Sep 2013

Overall a good attempt to answer the question. It is quite a descriptive answer but towards the end it does start to evaluate the importance of physical factors in population distribution. It would benefit greatly from more detailed examples using data. 3 stars

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