Chapter 4 Inhabitants and Settlements Section I. Population and Ethnicity

Chapter 4 Inhabitants and Settlements

Section I. Population and Ethnicity

The growth of the world population

The growth rate of the world population is usually expressed by the natural population growth rate, the higher the natural population growth rate, the faster the population growth rate. The natural population growth rate is determined by the birth rate and the death rate of the population. From a global perspective, with the development of health care, the number of babies born each year is now more than the number of deaths, making the world's total population continue to grow.

The population growth of a region, in addition to the impact of natural population growth, but also by other factors. The distribution of the world's population is uneven, with some places being densely populated and others sparsely populated. The degree of population density is expressed in terms of population density. Population density is the average number of people living in each kilometer. The world population map shows that the eastern and southern parts of Asia, Europe, and the coastal and plains areas of eastern North America are densely populated. Desert areas with extreme aridity, rainforest areas with excessive heat and humidity, and severe latitudes where it is cold all year round, as well as the severe terrain of the Sawai and mountainous regions, are sparsely populated.

Population Problems Overpopulation and rapid growth can bring many problems to the environment and socio-economic development. For example, people have to consume more natural resources in order to meet their survival needs, which brings more pressure to the society; if the population increases too much in a short period of time, it will create social problems such as employment difficulties, hunger and poverty, poor living conditions, and increased traffic pressure. However, there are countries or regions where population growth is too slow, or even stops or decreases, which can also have some negative effects. For example, labor shortages, lack of defense personnel, and increased burden on society to support the elderly.

In order to solve the population problems, each country has formulated corresponding population policies to make the population growth compatible with social and economic development, and harmonize with the environment and resources.

Different human races can be divided into three main races, namely, white, yellow and black, according to their institutional characteristics. The same human race has both large concentrated distribution areas and small sporadic distribution in the world. Some areas have become mixed areas of different races. Now, due to population migration, the distribution of ethnic groups is becoming more and more complex.

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