The population density is the number of inhabitants per unit of land area. It is often expressed as the number of people per square kilometer or square miles of the chosen territory, which can be as large as a continent, a country, a city or a district..
It also assumes that the population is homogeneously distributed over said territory, even though it has inhospitable areas such as very arid deserts, steep mountains or dense forests..
Other names for population density with the same meaning are population density and relative population, since it is expressed by a quotient that compares the number of people with the size of the territory:
Population density = DP = Number of inhabitants / Area in kilometers or square miles
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Although we know that people are not evenly distributed, population density is a very important population indicator.
People demand a minimum of conditions to survive. For this reason, from the first societies, humanity tried to establish itself in places that offered a moderate climate, sufficient water, fertile soils, and appropriate communication routes..
When it comes to planning the use of resources, it is not enough to know the absolute number of people. An effective distribution requires knowing where more people are grouped and where there are fewer, in order to satisfy requirements such as food, electricity, transport and communications, to name just a few..
According to what has been said, a small territory inhabited by few people can have a high population density, it is no longer about absolute quantities. And a country with a large population is not necessarily densely populated if it has a large territory, as we will see later..
The population density is the ratio between the number of individuals and the area of the territorial surface. Therefore, it is necessary to have the numerical values of the population and the area to which it belongs..
One way to know the number of individuals is by counting everyone through a census. The word census derives from Latin census Y I will census, a people count that was done in Ancient Rome to find out how many men were available for military service and also for tax purposes. Of course the censuses were carried out in other places, such as ancient China, for example..
The governments of each country are in charge of carrying out population censuses, interviewing each and every one of the inhabitants. This is not always easy in very remote areas and in any case it is a large-scale task that demands a lot of time and resources.
Another simpler way to approach the problem of people counting is through sampling techniques..
With this, the population is estimated from a sample. The results can be quite accurate and this method is used mainly for smaller studies, where smaller geographic areas are considered or when the census data are not up-to-date..
And to find the areas of the corresponding territory, maps, aerial photos, satellite images and cartographic techniques are used. Artificial satellites like Landsat and others provide very good quality data. In general, the delimitation of a territory can be complicated, in view of the large number of factors that must be evaluated.
According to figures from the World Bank, there are 149 million square kilometers of land, of which only 10% contains 95% of the planet's population. The rest is uninhabited for various reasons, one of the main ones being the extreme climate.
The places with the highest population density also have other qualities apart from the climatic conditions, such as ease of communication, the quality of the soils for cultivation, availability of resources, especially water, and political and social stability, to name a few..
Historically the lowlands, those close to rivers, fresh water sources and coastal areas have been preferred by humanity to establish their settlements. It is enough to remember that civilizations such as the Egyptian and Mesopotamian flourished thanks to rivers such as the Nile, the Euphrates and the Tigris..
Below is the calculation of the population density of various countries with different territorial extensions and climatic conditions:
According to data taken from the network, the total area of England is 130,395 km² and a population of 53,012,456 inhabitants. Its population density is:
DP = 53,012,456 inhabitants / 130,395 km² = 407 inhabitants / km²
England's population density is one of the highest in Europe, but not the highest.
With an area of 1,964,375 km² and diversity of landscapes, Mexico is home to 123,982,528 people. The Mexican population density is:
DP = 123,982,528 inhabitants / 1,964,375 km² = 63 inhabitants / km²
Even having more than twice the population of England, the relative density is much lower, due to the size of the country.
Spain has 505,944 km² extension and 46,934,600 inhabitants. The calculation of its population density is:
DP = 46,934,600 inhabitants / 505,944 kmtwo = 93 inhabitants / kmtwo
A good percentage of Spanish territory is not inhabited, so the global density is low compared to other European countries. But the inhabited areas are highly populated, especially its main cities.
This is the second country in the world in territorial extension: 9,093,469 km² and a population of 37,590,000 inhabitants. Your DP it is:
DP = 37,590,000 inhabitants / 9,093,469 km² = 4 inhabitants / km²
Compared with previous densities, that of Canada is much lower, however, it must be considered that much of it has an inhospitable climate and not very conducive to agriculture. That is why most of the population is distributed towards the south and along the coastal areas, where the climate is a little less severe..
According to the data provided by government organizations, currently the countries and territorial agencies with the highest population density, in increasing order, are shown in the following table:
| Country or dependency | Number of inhabitants | Extension in kmtwo | Population density in inhabitants / kmtwo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monaco | 38,300 | 2.02 | 18,960 |
| Singapore | 5,638,700 | 722.5 | 18,960 |
| Hong Kong (China) | 7,482,500 | 1,106 | 6,765 |
| Bahrain | 1,543,300 | 778 | 1,984 |
| Maldives | 378,114 | 298 | 1,269 |
| malt | 493,559 | 315 | 1,567 |
| Bangladesh | 167,764,312 | 143,998 | 1,165 |
| Palestine | 4,976,684 | 6,020 | 827 |
| Barbados | 287,025 | 430 | 668 |
| Lebanon | 6,855,713 | 10,452 | 656 |
| Taiwan | 23,596,266 | 36,197 | 652 |
| Mauricio | 1,265,577 | 2,040 | 620 |
| San Marino | 34,641 | 61 | 568 |
Results for population density are rounded to the nearest integer. Looking closely at the data, it is noted that the vast majority of the most densely populated countries have small territories, except for Bangladesh, which exceeds 100,000 km² of extension.
At the other extreme are the countries with lower density, which unlike the previous ones, have a notable territorial extension, but which due to their geographical characteristics is less favorable for human settlements.
The following table shows the countries with the lowest population density, in increasing order of density:
| Country or dependency | Number of inhabitants | Extension in kmtwo | Population density in inhabitants / kmtwo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenland | 56,770 | 410,448 | 0.14 |
| Falkland Islands | 3,480 | 12,170 | 0.30 |
| Mongolia | 3,112,827 | 1,553,553 | 2.00 |
| Occidental Sahara | 549,000 | 266,000 | 2.06 |
| Namibia | 2,030,692 | 824,292 | 2.46 |
| Libya | 5,670,688 | 1,759,540 | 3.22 |
| Australia | 25,043,027 | 7,741,220 | 3.24 |
| Iceland | 357,050 | 103,000 | 3.47 |
| French Guiana | 282,731 | 83,534 | 3.40 |
| Surinam | 558,368 | 163,820 | 3.41 |
| Guyana | 801,193 | 214,969 | 3.70 |
| Botswana | 2,250,260 | 581,730 | 3.87 |
Note: Although the number of inhabitants is a whole number, the population density can give a decimal number. In table 2 the results are rounded to two decimal places.
Countries such as Greenland and Iceland, located in the Arctic have a too cold climate, Australia, Namibia and Western Sahara for example, have vast deserts, while the territory of Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname, located in South America, are covered by dense rainforests.
The largest number of people congregate in large cities, because they provide many more job opportunities, as they have highly diversified activities.
The cities with the highest population density are not necessarily the ones with the most inhabitants. Currently, large Chinese cities are those with the highest number of inhabitants, however in table 3 of the most densely populated cities there are no Chinese cities among them.
This is due to the large size of these cities. Chongqing, located in southwest China, is currently the largest city in the world.
It has no less than 30,165,500 inhabitants in an area of 82,403 km², which is much bigger than the other cities on the list.
| Town | Country | Number of inhabitants | Extension in kmtwo | Population density in inhabitants / kmtwo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dhaka | Bangladesh | 14,399,000 | 337.54 | 42,659 |
| Cairo | Egypt | 7,601,018 | 473.73 | 25,582 |
| Kinshasa | Congo | 11,462,000 | 337.54 | 24,195 |
| Delhi | India | 6,787,941 | 1,484 | 23,893 |
| Tokyo | Japan | 13,515,271 | 626.99 | 21,556 |
| Mumbai | India | 12,442,373 | 603 | 20,634 |
| Bogota | Colombia | 7,963,000 | 428.26 | 18,594 |
| Ho chi min city | Vietnam | 7,431,000 | 453.60 | 16,382 |
| Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | 6,694,000 | 410.97 | 16,288 |
| Seoul | South Korea | 9,806,000 | 605.25 | 16,202 |
| Jakarta | Indonesia | 10,624,000 | 661.50 | 16,060 |
| Baghdad | Iraq | 6,793,000 | 424.53 | 16,001 |
| Dar es salaam | Tanzania | 5,257,000 | 330.52 | 15,905 |
| Chennai | India | 6,727,000 | 426.51 | 15,772 |
| Mexico City | Mexico | 8,918,653 | 607.22 | 14,616 |
| Tehran | Iran | 9,033,003 | 751 | 12,028 |
| Bangalore | India | 8,443,675 | 709 | 11,909 |
| New York | USA | 8,398,748 | 786.30 | 10,681 |
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