Question

Low Stakes 4: Population Density and Distribution 9/27/2020 midnight in blackboard

The purpose of this low stakes is to understand how the distribution of people in a country differs from population density.

1)    Complete the blank cells in the table and answer the questions that follow. Population distribution computed as the country’s share of total population is country population divided by total population of all countries in this list multiplied by 100. Population density is computed as country population divided by country area in square kilometers

Country	Country Population(2006)	Country area(km2)	Country’s share of Total Population(%)	Population Density (per km2)
Botswana	1,639,833	566, 730	0.2
Chad	9,944,201	1, 259, 200	1.4
Egypt	78,887,007	995, 450	11.3	79.2
Kenya	34,707,817	569, 140	5.0
Yemen	21,456,188	527,970	3.1	40.6
Iceland	299,388	100, 250	0.0
Italy	58,133,509	294, 060
Switzerland	7,523,934	39, 550		190.2
Ukraine	46,710,816	579, 350
Canada	33,098,932	9, 220, 970
United States	298,444,215	9, 159, 120
Mexico	107,449,525	1, 908, 690		56.3
Total Population	698,295,365	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx	100	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

1. What is the difference between population distribution and population density?
2. Find one example of a country with a large population but a relatively low population density.
3. Find one example of a country with a small population but a relatively high population density.
4. Does a large total population necessarily lead to a high population density? What relationship determines the population density?
5. Describe one problem in only using population density to determine how dense the population of a country is.  

Answer 1

Completed table is given below,formula for calculation of missing figures is given below,

Country	Country Population(2006)	Country area(km2)	Country’s share of Total Population(%)	Population Density (per km2)
Botswana	1,639,833	566, 730	0.2	2.9
Chad	9,944,201	1, 259, 200	1.4	7.9
Egypt	78,887,007	995, 450	11.3	79.2
Kenya	34,707,817	569, 140	5.0	60.9
Yemen	21,456,188	527,970	3.1	40.6
Iceland	299,388	100, 250	0.0	2.9
Italy	58,133,509	294, 060	8.3	197.7
Switzerland	7,523,934	39, 550	1.1	190.2
Ukraine	46,710,816	579, 350	6.7	80.6
Canada	33,098,932	9, 220, 970	4.7	3.6
United States	298,444,215	9, 159, 120	42.7	32.6
Mexico	107,449,525	1, 908, 690	15.4	56.3
Total Population	698,295,365	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx	100	xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Calculations for the blanks using the formula,

• Country share of total population (%)= countrys population/total population x100
• Population density = countrys population/ countrys area

Population density just represents the average number of individuals per unit of area.Often,individuals in a population are not spread out evenly.Population distribution describes how the individuals are distributed, or spread throughout their habitat.

As per 2018 records,Russia has a population of 14.45 crores and its population density is 9 per km²,this is a perfect example for country with large population and low population density.

As per 2018 records,Israel has a population of 88.8 lakhs and its population density is 400 per km², a perfect example for comparatively low population and high population density.

Population density is the number of individuals per unit geographic area, for example, number per square meter, per hectare, or per square kilometer.Large population doesn't necessarily lead to large population density . The population density also depends on the area factor of the region ,if a region has high population as well as more than enough area then the population, density is low.If the population is low but the area provided is too low for the population then the density of population increases.Hence , primarily the density depends on area and secondarily on population of region.The relationship between the population of the area and the area itself determines the population density.

Population density is the average number of individuals per unit area.Population density maybe arithmetically correct but the population in reality actually may be spread in various regions by race ,natural factors ,various climatic conditions,availability of services,transportation,economic factors.Population density ignores these factors and provides an average of individual that may be spread in the region, but in reality they maybe spread differently in the region.Hence, though mathematically correct it contradicts with actual density spread.

To conclude,Russia is the example for large population with low population density and Israel is the example of comparitively small population with high population density.The relationship between the population of the area and the area itself determines the population density.One drawback of using population density for calculation of density of population is it may be arithmatically correct but in reality the actual spread of population may be different due to various factors.