Population geography studies the size, growth, make-up, distribution and movement of people. It is the foundation of economic geography: labour resources, cities and the location of industry and farming all depend on population. Exams set calculations (natural increase, net migration, density, urbanisation level) and test whether you can tell the concepts apart, so you need to know the meaning and the formula of every indicator.
§1. World population size and growth
For most of history population grew very slowly because both birth and death rates were high. In the early nineteenth century about 1 billion people lived on Earth. Progress in medicine, hygiene and food production cut death rates sharply while birth rates stayed high for a long time, so population grew fast in the twentieth century. World population reached 8 billion in November 2022. The most populous countries are India (it overtook China in 2023), China, the USA, Indonesia and Pakistan. Most of humanity lives in Asia. Three basic indicators describe growth:
Natural increase = births − deaths; ‰ (per mille) means per 1000 people
Net migration (mechanical growth) = arrivals − departures
Total growth = natural increase + net migration
Rates are given in ‰: a birth rate of 22‰ means 22 babies were born per 1000 people in a year. When natural increase is negative the population is shrinking, which is called depopulation.
Worked example
At the start of a year the urban population is 12.76 million and the rural 16.24 million. Per 1000 people: births 20, deaths 9, immigration 1, emigration 4. How did the population change, and what was the urbanisation level?
Total growth: 319,000 − 87,000 = 232,000 people, i.e. 8‰.
Urbanisation: 12.76 / 29 · 100% ≈ 44%. Answer: the population grew by 232,000; urbanisation ≈ 44%.
§2. Population reproduction and population policy
Population reproduction is the combination of births, deaths and natural increase — the replacement of generations. Two main types are distinguished:
Type I — low birth and death rates, small or negative natural increase. Typical of Europe, Japan and North America. The population is ageing, labour is scarce and the share of pensioners grows.
Type II — high birth rates with death rates lowered by medicine. The result is rapid growth, the population explosion (Tropical Africa, parts of South and South-West Asia). The population is young, but jobs, schools and food are in short supply.
These types fit the idea of the demographic transition: as a society develops, first death rates fall and then birth rates, and the population moves from Type II to Type I. Population policy is what a state does to influence reproduction. Ageing countries encourage births (child benefits, parental leave); fast-growing countries have tried to limit them (for example China’s "one-child" policy, later abolished). Another key indicator is life expectancy: high in developed countries, low in poor ones. Women usually live longer than men.
§3. Population structure
Age-sex structure is shown by a population pyramid: males on the left, females on the right, the young at the bottom and the old at the top. A wide base means a young population with high births (Type II); a narrow base and a wide top mean an ageing population (Type I).
Labour resources are people of working age — the main factor of an economy.
Races: Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid (the equatorial group: Negroid and Australoid), with transitional and mixed groups between them. Races differ only in outward features, not in mental ability.
Ethnic make-up: single-nation states (Japan, Korea) and multinational ones (India, Russia). The largest language family is Indo-European; Uzbek belongs to the Turkic languages.
Religion: the world religions are Christianity, Islam and Buddhism; national religions include Hinduism, Judaism, Shinto and others.
The six official languages of the UN: English, French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic.
§4. Distribution of population
Population density = population / area (people per km²)
People are spread very unevenly. East and South Asia, Western Europe and the north-eastern USA are densely settled. Deserts, tundra, high mountains and wet equatorial forests are sparsely settled, and Antarctica has no permanent population. Most people live on lowlands not far from the sea and in river valleys. Factors of distribution: natural (climate, water, relief, soils), historical (ancient farming centres) and economic (industry, transport, jobs).
Worked example
World population is 8 billion and the land area is about 149 million km². What is the average density?
Formula: density = population / area.
8,000,000,000 / 149,000,000 ≈ 54.
Answer: about 54 people per km² (though the real distribution is very uneven).
§5. Urbanisation and migration
Urbanisation is the growth of the urban share of the population, the increase in the number of towns and the spread of an urban way of life.
Urbanisation level = urban population / total population · 100%
Today more than half of humanity lives in towns and cities. Western Europe, North America and Australia are the most urbanised; Tropical Africa and parts of South Asia the least. In developing countries mass movement from villages leads to "false urbanisation": cities grow but jobs and infrastructure lag behind.
An agglomeration is a large city with the linked towns around it (Tokyo, the Tashkent agglomeration).
A megalopolis is a chain of merged agglomerations (the north-eastern USA — Boswash; Tokaido in Japan).
Migration is a change of permanent or long-term residence. External migration: emigration — leaving a country; immigration — entering one. Internal migration happens within a country (mainly from countryside to town). Causes are economic, political, environmental and family-related. The most common kind is labour migration.
Worked example
A city has 1.2 million people and the villages 1.8 million. During a year 30,000 people move from villages to the city (no other changes). How does the urbanisation level change?
Total: 1.2 + 1.8 = 3 million (internal migration does not change the total).
Before: 1.2 / 3 · 100% = 40%.
New urban population: 1,200,000 + 30,000 = 1,230,000.
After: 1.23 / 3 · 100% = 41%. Answer: it rises by 1 percentage point.
§6. The population of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has more than 37 million people — the largest population in Central Asia. The population is young, natural increase is positive and labour resources are plentiful, which makes job creation and education major tasks.
Most people are Uzbeks; Karakalpaks, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Russians, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Tatars, Koreans and others also live there.
Distribution: dense in oases and valleys (the Fergana Valley, the Tashkent oasis, the Zarafshan Valley), sparse in the deserts.
Highest density: Andijan Region; lowest: Navoi Region and the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Urban and rural populations are roughly equal; large cities include Tashkent, Samarkand, Namangan, Andijan, Fergana, Bukhara, Karshi and Nukus.
External labour migration is noticeable: some citizens work temporarily in other countries.
Check yourself
Birth rate 24‰, death rate 6‰. What is the natural increase?
A region of 2 million has natural increase of 18‰. How many people is that?
Population 5 million, area 25,000 km². Density?
What is leaving one’s country to live permanently in another called?
Which region of Uzbekistan has the highest population density?
Urban population 3.6 million, total 6 million. Urbanisation level?
Low birth and death rates are typical of which type of reproduction?
What is a chain of merged agglomerations called?
Common mistakes
Writing that China is still the most populous country — since 2023 it is India.
Confusing immigration and emigration: "im-" is coming in, "e-" is going out.
Treating per mille like per cent: ‰ divides by 1000, % by 100.
Adding migration into natural increase — they are separate indicators combined only in total growth.
Thinking internal migration increases a country’s population — it only changes the distribution.