Class 12 Geography Notes Chapter 2 (The world population distribution; density and growth) – Fundamentals of Indian Geography Book

Detailed Notes with MCQs of Chapter 2 of your 'Fundamentals of Human Geography' textbook: 'The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth'. This is a crucial chapter, not just for your board exams but also for understanding the human dynamics shaping our planet, which often forms the basis for questions in various government exams.

Chapter 2: The World Population – Distribution, Density and Growth: Detailed Notes

1. Introduction: People as a Resource

• People are central to the study of human geography. They are the creators and consumers of resources.
• Understanding the distribution, density, growth, and composition of the human population is fundamental to analysing the social and economic patterns of any region or the world.

2. Patterns of Population Distribution

• Definition: Population distribution refers to the way people are spaced over the earth’s surface.
• Highly Uneven: World population distribution is extremely uneven.
  • Key Fact: Roughly 90% of the world's population lives in about 10% of its land area.
  • Key Fact: The 10 most populous countries (e.g., China, India, USA, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico) account for about 60% of the world's population.
• Densely Populated Regions:
  • Monsoon Asia (South, Southeast, and East Asia)
  • Europe (especially Western and Central Europe)
  • Eastern North America (Northeastern USA and Southeastern Canada)
• Sparsely Populated Regions:
  • Harsh physical environments: Deserts (hot and cold), high mountains, dense tropical forests, polar regions.
  • These areas often lack favourable conditions for agriculture, settlement, and economic activity.
• Ecumene: The term used for land that is permanently inhabited by humans.

3. Factors Influencing Population Distribution

These factors explain why population distribution is uneven:

• (A) Geographical Factors:

  • Availability of Water: Essential for life (drinking, bathing, cooking, irrigation, industry, navigation). River valleys are among the most densely populated areas.
  • Landforms: Flat plains and gentle slopes are preferred for agriculture, infrastructure development (roads, industries). Mountainous and hilly areas generally have lower population density due to terrain difficulties.
  • Climate: Areas with moderate, comfortable climates (avoiding extreme heat, cold, or heavy rainfall) attract more people. Mediterranean regions are historically desirable.
  • Soils: Fertile soils (alluvial, loamy) are crucial for agriculture, supporting dense populations in regions like the Indo-Gangetic plains, Nile Valley, etc.

• (B) Economic Factors:

  • Minerals: Areas rich in mineral deposits attract industries and mining activities, generating employment and pulling population (e.g., Katanga-Zambia copper belt in Africa).
  • Urbanisation: Cities offer better employment opportunities, educational and medical facilities, transport, communication, and civic amenities, leading to high population density (rural-urban migration).
  • Industrialisation: Industrial belts create job opportunities, attracting large numbers of workers and associated service providers (e.g., Kobe-Osaka region in Japan).

• (C) Social and Cultural Factors:

  • Religious/Cultural Significance: Places with religious or cultural importance often attract more people (e.g., Varanasi, Jerusalem, Vatican City).
  • Social/Political Stability: People tend to move away from areas experiencing political turmoil, civil unrest, or conflict and prefer settling in peaceful regions. Government policies can also influence population distribution (e.g., incentives to settle in sparsely populated areas).

4. Population Density

• Definition: Population density is the ratio between the number of people and the size of the land (usually measured in persons per square kilometre).
• Formula: Population Density = Total Population / Total Land Area
• Significance: Helps in understanding the pressure of population on land resources.
• Global Patterns:
  • High Density Areas (>200 persons/sq km): Fertile plains, industrial regions (e.g., East Asia, South Asia, NW Europe, Eastern USA).
  • Medium Density Areas (11-50 persons/sq km): Areas with developing agriculture or industry (e.g., Western China, Southern India in Asia; Norway, Sweden in Europe).
  • Low Density Areas (<1 person/sq km): Harsh physical environments (e.g., Hot/Cold Deserts, Equatorial Forests, High Mountains, Polar regions).

5. Population Growth

• Definition: Population growth refers to the change in the number of inhabitants of a territory during a specific period. This change can be positive (increase) or negative (decrease).
• Expressing Growth: Can be expressed in absolute numbers or as a percentage (growth rate).
• Key Concepts:
  • Growth Rate of Population: The change expressed as a percentage of the base population.
  • Natural Growth: The difference between births and deaths in a particular region between two points in time. (Natural Growth = Births – Deaths).
  • Actual Growth: Takes migration into account. (Actual Growth = Births – Deaths + Immigration – Emigration).
  • Positive Growth: Occurs when births exceed deaths, or when immigration is higher than emigration, or a combination leading to an increase.
  • Negative Growth: Occurs when deaths exceed births, or emigration exceeds immigration, leading to a decrease.

6. Components of Population Change

Three main components drive population change:

• (A) Birth Rate (Fertility):

  • Crude Birth Rate (CBR): Number of live births in a year per thousand of the mid-year population.
  • Formula: CBR = (Bi / P) × 1000 (where Bi = live births during the year, P = mid-year population).
  • High CBR is characteristic of less developed, agrarian economies; Low CBR is typical of developed, industrialized/urbanized economies.

• (B) Death Rate (Mortality):

  • Crude Death Rate (CDR): Number of deaths in a year per thousand of the mid-year population.
  • Formula: CDR = (D / P) × 1000 (where D = number of deaths, P = mid-year population).
  • Mortality rates are affected by demographic structure, social advancement, and economic development (access to healthcare, sanitation, nutrition). Declining CDR is the primary reason for population explosion in recent history.

• (C) Migration:

  • Movement of people across regions and territories. Can be permanent, temporary, or seasonal.
  • Place of Origin: Where people move from. Experiences population decrease.
  • Place of Destination: Where people move to. Experiences population increase.
  • Types: Immigration (moving into a new place), Emigration (moving out of a place).
  • Factors Influencing Migration:
    • Push Factors (reasons to leave): Unemployment, poor living conditions, political turmoil, natural disasters, epidemics, socio-economic backwardness.
    • Pull Factors (reasons to move to a place): Better job opportunities, better living conditions, peace and stability, security of life and property, pleasant climate.

7. Trends in Population Growth

• Early History: Population growth was very slow due to high birth and death rates. Limited food supply, diseases, and wars kept growth in check.
• Agricultural Revolution (around 8,000-12,000 years ago): Led to a modest increase in population (~800 million by mid-18th century).
• Industrial Revolution (late 18th Century onwards): Marked the beginning of rapid population growth ('population explosion'). Technological advancements, improved sanitation, medical breakthroughs led to a drastic reduction in death rates, while birth rates remained high initially.
• Key Milestones:
  • World population reached 1 billion around 1804.
  • Reached 2 billion in 1927 (123 years later).
  • Reached 3 billion in 1960 (33 years later).
  • Reached 4 billion in 1974 (14 years later).
  • Reached 5 billion in 1987 (13 years later).
  • Reached 6 billion in 1999 (12 years later).
  • Reached 7 billion in 2011 (12 years later).
  • Reached 8 billion in 2022 (11 years later).
• Doubling Time: The time it takes for a population to double its size at its current annual growth rate. It has drastically reduced over time but is now lengthening again as global growth rates slow down. Developed countries have longer doubling times than developing countries.

8. Spatial Pattern of Population Change

• Population growth rates vary significantly across the world.
• Developing countries generally have higher population growth rates than developed countries.
• There is a negative correlation observed between economic development and population growth (i.e., higher development often correlates with lower growth rates).
• Africa currently has the highest population growth rates. Europe has very low or even negative growth rates.

9. Impact of Population Change

• Resource Depletion: A small increase in population can lead to significant resource depletion if resources are already scarce.
• Health Epidemics: Declining death rates don't necessarily mean an increase in life expectancy alone; epidemics like HIV/AIDS have drastically increased death rates in some regions (e.g., parts of Africa), impacting life expectancy and demographic structure.
• Pressure on Infrastructure: Rapid growth strains existing infrastructure like housing, healthcare, education, and sanitation.

10. Demographic Transition Theory

• Purpose: Describes population change as a society evolves from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates, typically linked to socio-economic development (from rural agrarian to urban industrial society).
• Stages:
  • Stage 1: High Fluctuating: High birth rates and high death rates; population growth is slow and fluctuating. Societies are agrarian, life expectancy is low, large families are common. (Example: Remote tribal groups; historically, most of the world before the 19th century).
  • Stage 2: Early Expanding: High birth rates persist, but death rates fall rapidly due to improvements in sanitation, healthcare, and food supply. Leads to rapid population growth (population explosion). (Example: Many developing countries like Peru, Sri Lanka, Kenya are in later phases of this stage).
  • Stage 3: Late Expanding: Birth rates start to decline (due to increased education, access to contraception, urbanization, changing status of women), while death rates continue to fall slowly or stabilize at a low level. Population growth slows down. (Example: Many countries like India, Brazil, China are transitioning through or are in this stage).
  • (Often a Stage 4 is mentioned): Low Fluctuating: Low birth rates and low death rates; population growth is very low, stable, or zero. (Example: Most developed countries like Canada, Japan, USA, UK).
  • (Sometimes a Stage 5 is discussed): Declining: Birth rates fall below death rates, leading to a natural decrease (negative growth) in population. (Example: Some European countries like Germany, Italy; Japan).

11. Population Control Measures

• Family Planning: Access to contraception, awareness about birth control methods.
• Education: Particularly women's education, which often correlates with smaller family sizes and delayed marriage.
• Improved Health Facilities: Reduces infant and maternal mortality, which can paradoxically lead to lower desired family size as child survival rates increase.
• Government Policies: Incentives or disincentives related to family size (though coercive measures are controversial and often ineffective).
• Poverty Reduction and Economic Development: Often leads to demographic transition towards lower birth rates.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Which of the following factors is primarily a Geographical Factor influencing population distribution?
   a) Industrialisation
   b) Availability of Water
   c) Urbanisation
   d) Political Stability

2. The term 'Ecumene' refers to:
   a) The ratio of population to land area.
   b) The permanently inhabited areas of the earth's surface.
   c) The movement of people from one place to another.
   d) The number of deaths per thousand people.

3. High population density is typically NOT found in which of these regions?
   a) River Valleys
   b) Industrial Belts
   c) Polar Regions
   d) Fertile Coastal Plains

4. Natural Growth Rate of population is calculated as:
   a) Birth Rate + Death Rate
   b) Birth Rate – Death Rate
   c) Birth Rate – Death Rate + Net Migration
   d) (Births / Total Population) x 1000

5. Which stage of the Demographic Transition Theory is characterized by high birth rates and rapidly falling death rates, leading to a population explosion?
   a) Stage 1
   b) Stage 2
   c) Stage 3
   d) Stage 4

6. Better job opportunities in cities that attract people from rural areas are an example of:
   a) Push Factor
   b) Pull Factor
   c) Geographical Factor
   d) Demographic Factor

7. According to the text, approximately what percentage of the world's population lives on about 10% of its land area?
   a) 50%
   b) 70%
   c) 80%
   d) 90%

8. The Crude Death Rate (CDR) is expressed as:
   a) Number of deaths per 100 people
   b) Number of deaths per 1000 people
   c) Number of deaths per square kilometre
   d) Total deaths minus total births

9. Which of the following is an Economic Factor influencing population distribution?
   a) Climate suitability
   b) Presence of mineral deposits
   c) Religious significance of a place
   d) Availability of flat land

10. During which historical period did the world population experience the most dramatic acceleration in growth, often termed the 'population explosion'?
    a) Pre-historic times
    b) After the Agricultural Revolution
    c) After the Industrial Revolution
    d) During the Roman Empire

Answer Key for MCQs:

1. b) Availability of Water
2. b) The permanently inhabited areas of the earth's surface.
3. c) Polar Regions
4. b) Birth Rate – Death Rate
5. b) Stage 2
6. b) Pull Factor
7. d) 90%
8. b) Number of deaths per 1000 people
9. b) Presence of mineral deposits
10. c) After the Industrial Revolution

Make sure you revise these concepts thoroughly. Understand the definitions, the factors involved, and the stages of demographic transition – these are frequently tested areas. Good luck with your preparation!