From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A
population
is the
number
of living people that live together in the same place.
[1]
A
city
's population is the number of people living in that city. These people are called
inhabitants
or
residents
. The population includes all individuals that live in that certain area. The
world population
was estimated to have reached 7.5 billion in April 2017. Asia is the most populous continent, with its 4.3 billion inhabitants being 60% of the
world population
. The most populous country is
China
with 1.4 billion people.
Population density
is the
average
number of people in a place.
Urban areas
such as big cities have a high population density. People living there lives close to each other. In areas with a low population density, people usually live far away from each other, such as in
rural areas
out in the countryside.
Usually population refers to the number of humans in a certain area. The
maximum
population that can be supported in an area is called the
carrying capacity
.
Global population is going up, but the
population growth
rate is declining all over the world. Growth in poor countries is faster than in rich ones; some rich countries have a
population pyramid
that is nearly square.
Urbanization
is also common, and
urban areas
usually have lower birth rates. In population growth, births exceed deaths. In the modern world this is due to reduction of
infant deaths
, control of
infectious diseases
, and improved
agriculture
so more people can eat.
The change in population from 2010 to 2015 was:
- World: +420 million
- Africa: +146 million
- Asia: +223 million
- Europe: +3 million
- Latin America and Caribbean: +35 million
- Northern America: +14 million
- Oceania: +2.9 million
Human population control is the practice of altering the rate of growth of a human population. Concerns about
overpopulation
and its effects on poverty, environmental degradation, and political stability led to efforts to reduce population growth rates.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Population
.
- ↑
Holt Rinehart & Winston (2001).
Earth Science
. Austin, Texas: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
ISBN
0-03-055667-8
.