Page 26 - ICSE GEOGRAPHY
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and Himalayas are sparsely populated. • Industrialisation: Industrial belts provide
• Climate: People usually avoid extreme job opportunities and attract large number
climates that are very hot or very cold such of people. Th ese include not just factory
as Sahara Desert and the polar regions. workers but also transport operators,
• Soil: Fertile soils provide suitable land for shopkeepers, bank employees, doctors,
agriculture. Fertile plains along rivers such teachers and other service providers.
as the Ganga and Brahmaputra in India, For example, the Kobe-Osaka region of
Japan is thickly populated because of the
Huang He and Chang Jiang in China, and
presence of a number of industries.
the Nile in Egypt, are densely populated.
• Water: People prefer to live in areas where Social and Cultural Factors
freshwater is easily available. Th e river • Social or Political Unrest: People tend
valleys of the world are densely populated to move away from places where there is
while deserts have a sparse population. social and political unrest. Refugees from
Economic Factors Ethiopia, Sudan, Syria have moved out from
their own countries. Oft en, governments
Economic factors also play an important role also off er incentives to people to live in
in the density and distribution of population. sparsely populated areas or to move away
• Minerals: Areas with rich mineral from overcrowded places.
deposits attract mining and industrial • Religious Places: Religious places attract
activities. Th erefore skilled and semi-skilled people because they have a religious
workers move to these areas in search or cultural signifi cance. For example,
of employment and make them densely Haridwar in Uttarakhand is densely
populated. Th e Katanga Zambia copper belt populated as it has been an important
in Africa is a good example. religious site since ancient times.
• Urbanisation: People migrate to cities
Factors Aff ecting Population Change
for better employment opportunities,
educational and medical facilities, better Th ere are three factors that aff ect population
means of transport and communication, change in a country.
and for good civic amenities. Mega cities • Birth: It is usually measured using the
of the world continue to attract a large birth rate (number of live births per 1,000
number of migrants every year. people per year). Birth is a chief natural
factor aff ecting population change. It
causes an increase in the population.
Th e higher the birth rate, the quicker the
growth of the population.
• Death: It is usually measured using the
death rate (number of deaths per 1,000
people per year). Death is an important
natural cause that brings a change in the
population. It decreases the population of
Mega cities of the world attract large number of migrants a country.
migrant: a person who goes from one place to another especially to fi nd work
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