Question.
Q1. Why do people prefer to live in certain regions and not in others?
Q2. Discuss the factors influencing the distribution and density of population in the world.
(Class 12 geography, Fundamentals of Human Geography, Chapter-2. The World Population Distribution, Density, and Growth )
Answer.
People are the most important resource of the country, it is people who make the country great and strong, people identify the country and not a resource like gold. Like other resources, the distribution of people is not uniform around the world. It is estimated that 90% of the world's population lives on 10% of the land surface. Some areas in India like the Gangetic plain are densely populated and some areas like the Sahara Desert, North America, and South America are sparsely populated.
Following are the three major factors that affect population distribution:
- geographical factor
- economic factors
- social and cultural factors
Geographical Factors:
Topography (plain and hilly areas), availability of water resources, climate, and soil are the four major geographical factors that affect population density.
People prefer to live in plains and sloping lands as such areas are favorable for growing crops, building human settlements, laying transport networks, etc. Most of the Earth's plains are densely populated, the Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra plain being an example.
Water is the most important resource for humans for drinking, growing crops, cleaning, and industrial processing. People prefer to live where freshwater resources are abundant. Most of the world's civilizations have flourished on the banks of major river systems. For example, the Indus civilization flourished on the banks of the Indus River and its tributaries, and the Egyptian civilization flourished on the banks of the Nile. Even today the river valleys are the most densely populated areas in the world. Due to the lack of water resources in the desert areas, people do not like to live there.
People prefer to live where there is a moderate climate – neither too hot nor too cold. Early humans settled in the Mediterranean climate zone because of its pleasant climate. People do not like to live where the extremely harsh climate is found. For example, areas with heavy rainfall, hot deserts, and cold desert areas are less populated because of unpleasant climates.
People like to live where fertile soil is found. Fertile soils such as alluvial loams are best suited for intensive agriculture. In India, alluvial soil is found in the Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra valley and the coastal plains, which is why it is the densely populated region of India.
Economic factors:
Availability of mineral resources, urbanization, and industrialization are the three major economic factors that affect the distribution of population.
The availability of mineral resources attracts industries. Mining and industrial activities provide employment which attracts people to move there and makes them a densely populated area. Dhanbad is famous for coal mines in India and it is a densely populated region of Jharkhand. The Katanga Zambia copper belt in Africa is a densely populated region due to the availability of copper minerals.
The urban center provides better opportunities such as employment opportunities, education, transport facilities, and medical facilities. People prefer to live in urban centers. Most of the world's urban centers are densely populated areas.
The industrial sector provides employment opportunities for factory workers, transport operators, shopkeepers, bank employees, doctors, teachers, and other services. Industrial areas like Mumbai-Pune, Delhi-Gurugram-Meerut, and Chotanagpur regions are densely populated due to the presence of many industries. The Kobe-Osaka industrial area of Japan is densely populated due to the presence of many industries.
Social and Cultural Factors:
Some people prefer to live in an area that has cultural significance. For example, the cities of Varanasi and Mathura have cultural significance.
People do not like to live where there is political instability and social unrest. For example, people are migrating from Afghanistan and Syria due to social unrest and political instability.
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