A district has a population of 2,700,000 and an area of 6,000 km². What is its population density?
- Population density = population ÷ area.
- 2,700,000 ÷ 6,000 = 2,700 ÷ 6 = 450.
Answer: 450 people per km².
Distribution and density
Geography of Pakistan · Population and employment. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.
The idea
Two terms are tested together. Distribution is the pattern of where people live: it says which areas are crowded and which are almost empty. Density is a number: the average number of people living on each square kilometre.
Pakistan’s population is very uneven. Most people live on the Indus plains, where the land is flat, the soil is fertile and canals bring water. Punjab has the largest population, and Balochistan has the largest area but the fewest people per square kilometre.
Inside each province the pattern is uneven too. People gather where there is water, flat land, jobs and transport, and avoid deserts and high mountains.
Rules to remember
- Population density = total population ÷ area, in people per km².
- High density: central Punjab, the Peshawar valley, the Indus valley in Sindh, Karachi.
- Low density: Balochistan plateau, Thar and Kharan deserts, high northern mountains.
- Physical reasons: relief, soil, rainfall and water supply, climate.
- Economic reasons: irrigated farming, industry, mining, ports, transport links.
- Social reasons: schools, hospitals, family ties. Political reasons: government decisions, such as building Islamabad as the capital.
- In mountain and desert areas people cluster in valleys and on plains where water allows farming.
Common mistake
Students think a large population always means a high density. Density depends on area as well, so always divide population by area before comparing places.
Worked example
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