Placement of peoples on the planet earth. Distribution of the population on the territory of the Earth

>>Population of Russia

§ 42. Placement of the population of Russia

As you already know, about 142 million people live in Russia on an area of ​​17.1 million km2. Thus, on average, there are 8.3 people per 1 km2.

The number of inhabitants per unit area (persons / km 2) is called density th of the population.

Population density characterizes the level of population of the territory. In terms of population density, Russia occupies one of the last places in the world. It is 5 times lower than the world average and 12 times lower than in foreign Europe. Many countries in the world have much higher population densities. In Bangladesh, it is over 900 people/km2. However, in some countries, such as Australia, it is even lower than in Russia (4 people/km2).

In Russia, internal differences in population density are very large. In the European part, it is slightly less than the world average - 30 people per 1 km 2, and in the Asian part - 10 times lower.

In some areas, the population density reaches almost 150 people/km2 (Moscow Region), while in the central part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory it is 15,000 times (!) less. main reason similar differences - uneven distribution of the population across the country. Of all the vast Russian spaces, only 45% are inhabited. Moreover, if the European part of the country is populated by 87%, then the Asian part is only 30%. There are even more differences in the population of certain regions of Russia. In the Central region, the share of the populated territory is 100%, and in Far East it is only 1/5 of the total area.

Why is the population so unevenly distributed across the territory of Russia? Differences in the population of Russia developed under the influence of interrelated factors: natural, historical, socio-economic. Natural conditions determine the favorableness of a particular territory for permanent residence and certain types of economic activities of people.

Rice. 66. Population density in Russia

In Russia, only 10% of the territory has favorable conditions for human life. But 30% of the total population is concentrated on them. 39, 66). In pre-revolutionary Russia, the strong influence of natural conditions on the distribution of the population was due to the fact that the bulk of its population was engaged in agriculture.

Questions and tasks

1. What are the reasons for the uneven distribution of the population across the territory of Russia?
2. Name two settlement zones in Russia. How do they differ?
3. Remember what problems arise during the development of the North zone.

Geography of Russia: Nature. Population. Economy. 8 cells : studies. for 8 cells. general education institutions / V. P. Dronov, I. I. Barinova, V. Ya. Rom, A. A. Lobzhanidze; ed. V. P. Dronova. - 10th ed., stereotype. - M. : Bustard, 2009. - 271 p. : ill., maps.

The population density in these areas reaches several hundred people per 1 km2, while the average population density of the Earth is 40 people per square kilometer, and 15% of the land is not inhabited at all.

Such an uneven distribution of the population is caused by a number of interrelated factors: natural (poor development of territories with unfavorable natural conditions), historical (the earlier a person has mastered the territory, the greater his number), demographic (the higher, the greater the number) and socio-economic (the better the territory is developed, the network, industry, etc. are developed).

According to the nature of settlement, the world's population can be divided into urban and rural.

urban settlement

Cities arose in antiquity as centers of administrative power, trade and crafts. Definition of a city in different countries different. For example, in the United States, a settlement of more than 2.5 thousand people is considered a city, in India - over 5 thousand, Japan - 30 thousand, and in, and - only more than 200 people.

Currently, cities are becoming the main form of human settlement, as evidenced by changes in the ratio of urban and rural population over the past few years.

The process of urban population growth, the increase in the number of cities and their fortification, the increasing role of cities in modern world called . Now urbanized territories occupy 1% of the land, but 45% of the population already lives on them.

This process is characterized by:

• rapid urban growth;
• urban sprawl, the formation of urban agglomerations;
• concentration of population in big cities.

Cities with a population of more than 300 stand out in particular. Closely located cities often merge, forming agglomerations. An example

Population size - a quantitative characteristic of the totality of all people living in a certain territory, the most common and popular indicator of the demographic situation.

The specificity of this indicator is that the population is:

• the initial indicator of the socio-demographic and economic development of the country;
• a basic indicator, as it serves as the basis for calculating many macroeconomic indicators, such as GDP per capita. It is also necessary when calculating relative indicators characterizing the intensity and dynamics of demographic processes.

The world population has been steadily increasing throughout history. According to the estimated data in 4000 BC. only 4 million people lived on Earth, in 1000 BC. - 50 million. At the beginning of our era, there were already 300 million people on Earth, by the end of the 1st millennium AD. - 400 million, in 1500 - 500 million, 1820 - 1 billion, 1900 - 1.6 billion, 1960 - 3 billion, 1993 - 5.65 billion, October 31, 1999 population Land amounted to 6 billion, and November 1, 2011 - 7.0 billion people.

At the beginning of 2014, at the 47th session of the UN Commission on Population and Development, the report of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated that the population of the Earth had reached 7.2 billion people.

In the history of mankind there were also periods when the population, although temporarily, but significantly decreased: in the XIV century. the plague claimed the lives of about 15 million people; in the 19th century in India and China, 25 million people died of starvation each; at the beginning of the 20th century. from the Spanish flu ("Spanish flu") in Europe and Russia - about 20 million people. ; but the greatest losses occurred during the Second World War - about 60 million people.

According to the UN forecast (2014), by 2025 the world's population will reach 8.1 billion, and by 2050 - 9.6 billion people. (Table 3.1).

Table 3.1

Periods of increase in world population

The number of inhabitants is an absolute momentary value that indicates the size of the society as of a certain date (usually at the beginning or end of the year). To avoid underestimation of the population and to achieve comparability of data, demography resorts to the calculation of the average population.

The average population is a conditional calculated value that reflects the size of society over a period of time as a whole. To find it, several calculation methods are used.

1. If data are available for the beginning and end of the year, the simple arithmetic average formula is used to calculate the average population:

where S- average population; S H - population at the beginning of the period; S k - population at the end of the period.

Advantage this method is the availability of data and ease of calculation. The disadvantage of calculating the average population using formula (3.1) is that its changes within the period under consideration are not taken into account. So, for any resort town, the average population, calculated according to the data for the beginning and end of the year, will be significantly less without taking into account the seasonal stay of vacationers who use the services of transport, catering, etc.

2. If there are data for equal periods of time (at the beginning of each month or year), then the chronological average formula is applied:

where S 1 S n - the first and last levels of the population dynamics series, respectively.

The advantage of this method is that it is more accurate than the first calculation of the average population, and the disadvantage is that the number of days varies by month, and in addition to the usual ones, there are also leap years.

3. If population data are available for unequal time intervals (for example, for January 1, March 1, July 1, etc.), then the chronological weighted average formula is applied:

where t- the time interval between each two adjacent levels in the series of population dynamics.

Such a calculation takes into account the length of the time intervals between the available data on the population, but does not fix the qualitative features of a particular period of time.

4. If population data are available for a relatively long period of time, for example, at the beginning of 2004 and 2012, then the average logarithmic formula is applied:

The use of this formula in calculating the average population may be justified by the impossibility of obtaining detailed data.

The average population is an absolute indicator that makes it possible to judge the demographic "weight" of a particular country, territory, etc. (Table 3.2).

Table 3.2

Source: Chinese Official Population Clock. URL: data.stats.gov.cn/english

From the point of view of management, a change in the quantitative size of a society over a certain period of time can lead to:

• to an increase in population;
• population stabilization;
• population reduction.

The last option is called depopulation, i.e. a process associated with a decrease in the number of inhabitants of a country or territorial unit. Depopulation as a result of the demographic development of society has taken place more than once in history, for example, in the second half of the 20th century, when it manifested itself in France, Germany and some other countries, including the Russian Federation since the early 1990s.

The following features are used to classify the types of depopulation.

• 1. Depending on forms manifestations: a) one-time; b) repeated; c) complete depopulation.
• 2. Depending on character: a) stable; b) discontinuous depopulation.
• 3. Depending on duration: a) short-term; b) medium-term; c) long-term depopulation.

To assess the development of the depopulation process, indicators such as:

where D- depopulation size; S K.P. , S N.P, - population at the end and beginning of the period, respectively;

where K d - coefficient of depopulation; S i S 0 , S- actual, base and average annual population, respectively.

From the standpoint of the state, ignoring any issues related to depopulation as an unfavorable scenario for population change can lead to problems in the development of society.

The location of the population is of great importance in studies of the development of countries and regions.

Placement of the population - the resettlement of residents by country, region, in urban and rural areas.

It is characterized by the following conditions:

• natural and climatic. The population is more concentrated in areas that are better adapted to life. Places with extreme natural conditions, such as deserts, glaciers, high mountains, do not create favorable conditions for human life;
• historical. According to the studies of many scientists, the formation of human society took place 40-50 thousand years ago, initially in Southwest Asia, Northeast Africa and Southern Europe, then people spread throughout the Old World, by the 10th millennium BC. settled North and South America, at the end of this period and Australia;
• socio-economic. As society developed, the quality of life became one of the defining elements of population distribution.

The following groups of indicators are used to characterize the distribution of the population.

• 1. The proportion of the population of a country, region in the total number of the world, continent, etc. Currently, the largest part of the world's population lives in Asia (more than 60%).
• 2. The physical density of the population, calculated as the ratio of the total population to the area of ​​the territory in square kilometers. Its value allows us to estimate how many people per square kilometer, and shows the degree of population of regions or countries.

Depending on the level of population density (Table 3.3), three groups can be distinguished:

• very high - over 200 people/sq. km;
• medium - 40-200 people / sq. km;
• low - 2-40 people/sq. km.

Table 3.3

Population density of some countries

Source: Chinese Official Population Clock. URL: data.stats.gov.cn/english

The average density of the world population as of 2013 is 52 people/sq. km, or 48 people/sq. km including Antarctica. As the population grows, physical density also increases (in 1890, the average world population density was only 12 people/sq. km).

The economic density of the population can be calculated separately, i.e. only in relation to the economically developed territory. It can differ markedly from the physical density of the population. For example,

for Russia, a large discrepancy will be observed for the regions of Siberia and Far East.

The population density in Russia as of 2014 was 8.4 people/sq. km. The lowest population density in Russian Federation in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug - 0.07 people/sq. km. The highest population density in the Russian Federation is in the Moscow region (including Moscow) - 409 people / sq. km; in the Moscow region without Moscow 160 people / sq. km, in Moscow itself - 4822 people / sq. km. ( Source: gks.ru - Federal State Statistics Service.)

Information about population density or population density has great importance when resolving issues of the socio-economic development of a particular territory, the development of transport and trade networks, the construction of social institutions.

• 3. Distribution of inhabitants between the city and the village. This is one of the most important characteristics of population distribution. The main indicators here are:
  • the number of urban and rural population;
  • proportion of urban and rural population;
  • the number of urban residents per 1,000 rural;
  • number of cities by category;
  • distribution of settlements according to the number of inhabitants.

These indicators reflect the distribution of residents between urban and rural areas, and are used as characteristics of the socio-economic development of society. The ego is due to the fact that the availability of transport, trade facilities, educational institutions, healthcare, etc. in cities is much wider than in rural areas. At the same time, information on the distribution of the population depending on the place of residence allows the authorities to various levels build a more effective socio-economic policy.

To assess the degree of uniformity of population distribution in demography, such an indicator as the index of territorial concentration is used:

where Si- the share of the area of ​​the i-th region in the total area of ​​the territory of the whole country; R i - the share of the population of the i-th region in the total population of the entire country.

It allows you to identify the centers of congestion of people both in the regional aspect and in relation to placement in urban or rural areas.

A settlement is understood as a place inhabited by people, or a primary unit of human settlement within one built-up land plot (city, urban-type settlement, village, etc.).

An obligatory sign of a settlement is the constancy of its use as a habitat from year to year. In Russia, there are the following settlements: arban, aul, settlement, city, holiday village, village,

zaimka, kishlak, shtetl, churchyard, settlement, urban-type settlement, settlement at the station, repair, working settlement, village, settlement, village, ulus, estate, farm. Despite the variety of settlements, as a rule, there are two main types of them - urban and rural settlements.

A city is a large settlement that performs production, management, organizational, cultural functions. Growing, cities form urban agglomerations. Modern cities are divided into small (up to 50 thousand inhabitants), medium (50-100 thousand), large (100-250 thousand), large (250-500 thousand), largest (500 thousand-1 million) and millionaire cities (over 1 million inhabitants).

In international practice, the urban population includes persons living in urban settlements, and the rural population includes persons living in rural areas. At the same time, attribution to an urban or rural settlement may have several criteria:

• economic- employment of the population in non-agricultural labor;
• quantitative- reaching a certain number of inhabitants;
• legislative- assigning the status of a city to a settlement by a special legislative act;
• historical- assigning the status of a city to a settlement historically.

However, these requirements of the criteria are not rigid; in practice, they are often linked to each other. The non-compliance of a settlement with any of the criteria (primarily formal, especially in terms of the number of inhabitants) does not entail an automatic loss of city status, since this requires the adoption of an appropriate regulatory legal act (regional law), and minor population fluctuations are quite natural.

In Russia, since 1939, the unity of the first three criteria has been used, and the status of the city is determined by the legislation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In Russia, a city can be a settlement with a population of more than 12 thousand people, among which 85% are workers, employees, as well as members of their families, and who should not be employed in agriculture. At the same time, two types of cities are distinguished: regional (oblast, krai, republican, etc.) and district significance. However, in Russia there are quite a few (208 out of 1092) cities with a population of less than 12 thousand people. Their city status is due to historical factors and population change.

In the 19th century the growth of industrial cities became massive, and the XX century. considered the century of urbanization. Urbanization (lat. urbanus- urban) - the process of increasing the number of urban population, the growth of cities, increasing the role of cities in the development of society. The consequences of urbanization are often not only positive, but also negative: on the one hand, accessibility and comfort, on the other hand, overpopulation, poor ecology, and transport problems. This is evidenced by the following data: in 1900, 13% of the world's population lived in cities, and by 2000 - already 47%. More than half of the world's inhabitants now live in cities. In Russia, at the beginning of 2014, the urban population was 106.6 million people, or 74% of the total population.

In the practice of international statistics, the concept of "agglomerated territory" has become widespread. Urban agglomeration is a territorial and economic association of several settlements, usually urban, on the basis of a large one into a complex multicomponent system with developed industrial, transport and cultural ties.

Since the middle of the last century, as a kind of agglomeration, such a phenomenon as suburbanization, the process of growth and development of the suburban zone of large cities, began to manifest itself. The rising standard of living allows people to build "rural type" houses in the suburbs, cottage settlements, running away from the disadvantages of city life - air pollution, noise, etc. In this situation, the pressure on both public transport and road capacity due to the use of private cars increases. In Russia, the first manifestations of suburbanization were observed in the Moscow region, where this process acquired one distinguishing feature: not daring to give up a city apartment, many residents of the metropolis spend most of their time in country cottages, as a result of which transport problems have increased significantly. In small countries with high population density, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, the suburbs take up almost all available space, crowding out natural landscapes. In the USA, South Africa, Britain, suburbanization is accompanied by the so-called white flight (Eng. white flight): the central areas of cities are settled by representatives of the Negroid race, while the white population moves to the suburbs.

Close to the concept of suburbanization is the concept of urbanization (from the English. rural- rural) - the spread of urban forms and living conditions to rural settlements. Such a process involves the migration of the urban population to rural settlements, the transfer to the countryside of economic activities inherent in the city. In Russia since the beginning of the XXI century. this phenomenon is observed mainly in the Moscow region - in many rural settlements, industrial enterprises and warehouses are being built, withdrawn from Moscow, the vast majority of the population leads an urban lifestyle.

The decrease in the number of the rural population and the increase in the urban population is largely due to the development of agricultural production, the introduction of machinery and technology, as a result of which the labor force is released. This is very clearly seen in the example of the economies of developed and developing countries. Thus, in developed countries, agricultural production employs from 3% (Great Britain) to 15% (Italy, Portugal) of the total number of employees. At the same time, in the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, more than half of the active population is employed in agriculture.

Another reason for the increase in the urban population is the legislative decision to transfer the settlement from one type to another (from rural to urban). Such a process took place in Russia in the middle

last century as a result of the industrialization policy pursued. An example in recent history is the annexation of new territories (mostly rural) to Moscow and the formation of the so-called New Moscow.

• This paragraph uses data from the United Nations Population Information Network, United Nations Population Division Department of Economic and Social Affairs from un.org/popin/.
• The most massive flu pandemic in the history of mankind in absolute terms, both in terms of the number of infected and dead.

- this is the process of distribution of the population over the territory and the formation of a network of settlements. Its character is influenced by four groups of factors:

• socio-economic (general level of economic development, regional differences in the location of sectors of the economy, incomes of the population, volumes of investment, etc.);
• natural (climate, relief, soil, availability, etc.);
• demographic (intensity of mechanical and natural);
• historical factor (influence on the resettlement of historical conditions).

The main features of the population distribution

The distribution of the population reflects the result of the process of population resettlement for a specific period of time.

The people on the planet are extremely unevenly settled.

More than two-thirds of humanity is concentrated on about 8% of the land area, and about 10% of it is still uninhabited (, almost all, etc.).

Other features of the distribution of the population on Earth are as follows: 72% of the population lives in - the area of ​​origin and formation of man, 60% of the population - in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere; more than half of the people are concentrated in the lowlands (up to 200 m above sea level), although the latter make up less than 30% of the land. The population is, as it were, "shifted" to the sea - almost 1/3 of the people live at a distance of no more than 50 km from the sea (this strip occupies 12% of the land).

The distribution of population across regions of the world is uneven. 3/5 of it falls on , 13.5% - , another 12% - on , and the rest of the regions in total - less than 15% Over the past decades, the share of Asia, Africa and the entire population of the world has constantly increased, Oceania has been stable , and Europe and - has been steadily declining.

60% of humanity is concentrated in the ten largest states with a population of more than 100 million in each, and almost 15% in eleven countries with a population of 50 to 100 million people. Thus, there is a very high territorial concentration of the population. However, the vast majority of countries have less than 10 million inhabitants, and many have less than 1 million. The highest proportion of sparsely populated countries is in Africa, Oceania and Central America. Examples of states with a very small population are (1 thousand inhabitants) and Pitcairn Island (a British colony in), where the population is less than 100 people.

The degree of population and economic development of the territory is often determined by the indicator - the number of inhabitants per 1 km2. Its average value in the world is 45 people per 1 km2. However, at the same time, according to available estimates, for half of the land population density is less than 1 person per 1 km2, and for 1/4 - it ranges from 1 to 10 people per 1 km2.

There are 6 regions on the globe with the highest population density (over 100 people per 1 km2):

1. East Asian (East China, Japan, Republic of Korea).
2. South Asian (Indo-Gangetic lowland, South India.
3. Southeast Asian ( , Vietnam, ).
4. European (Europe without its northern part).
5. Northeastern region of the USA.
6. West African region (Nile valley and lower reaches - countries: Nigeria,).

In addition, there are areas with high population density in - some coastal areas in and.

The most densely populated countries in the world include (930 people per 1 km2), and - 330 - 395 people per 1 km2.

High population density is most often associated with the development of industry and cities, in which it often reaches several thousand and even tens of thousands of people per 1 km2. However, among densely populated countries there are both industrial, highly

The distribution of population across the Earth is extremely uneven. The distribution of the population is influenced by various factors. However, in the first place, the population density depends on natural conditions, the degree of development of industry and agriculture, and the duration of the development of the territory.

The average population density of the Earth is 45 people per 1 km 2. Almost 70% of the population lives on 7% of the earth's land area. Coastal areas are characterized by the highest population density, as well as historically developed areas of high population density (see Annex 12). These areas are located in South

East, South and South-West Asia, where the average density is 400-600 people / km 2, in Western Europe from - 200 to 600 people / km 2, on the east coast of South America - 100-200 people / km 2

The distribution of the population in Russia is also uneven. The distribution of the population was influenced by historical, natural and economic factors.

Different development of the territories has led to an uneven distribution of the population in the European part of Russia, about 80% of the population lives on 30% of the country's area. In Russia, the main zone of settlement has historically developed: most of the European territory of Russia, the south of Siberia and the Far East, which is due to favorable natural conditions, the old development of the territory, and the availability of transport routes. It occupies "/3 of the territory of Russia and concentrates more than 90% of the country's population, a large number of cities. In the northern part of the country, a special zone of the North is distinguished, harsh natural conditions and selective development of resources determined the dispersed distribution of the population.

The average population density is 8.7 people/km2, which is four times less than the world figure.

The entire population of the world can be divided into urban and rural. Their ratio in different historical epochs was different. For a long time, only craftsmen and merchants lived in cities, and the bulk of the population lived in villages, as they were engaged in agriculture. After the industrial revolutions, the urban population began to grow rapidly. Urbanization is the growth of cities, the increase in the proportion of the urban population in a country, region, world, the emergence and development of increasingly complex networks and systems of cities.

Today, 48% of the world's population lives in cities. But this average does not show the big picture. According to the degree of urbanization, highly urbanized countries are distinguished, where the share of the urban population is above 50%. These are Canada, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Australia. For medium urbanized countries, indicators of 20-50% are typical. This group includes Nigeria, Congo, China, India, Indonesia. In poorly urbanized countries, the share of the urban population does not exceed 20%, which indicates a low level of economic development. Examples are Niger, Ethiopia, Afghanistan.

In highly urbanized countries, there is a gradual transition from a compact, point city to urban agglomerations - territorial groupings of cities closely connected by industrial, economic, and infrastructural ties. The size and number of agglomerations is growing rapidly.

Growing together, agglomerations form megacities - continuous strips of urban settlement. The largest city in the world is big Tokyo, the major cities include New York, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires in America; Lagos and Cairo in Africa; Karachi, Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Dhaka, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, Manila in Asia. However, in developing countries, urban population growth is often not accompanied by the spread of urban lifestyles. This phenomenon is called false urbanization.

With mature urbanization, there is an intensive spread of urban functions and urban lifestyle to the suburbs - suburbanization, in which the most wealthy segments of the population move from the central parts of the city to the suburbs.

In Russia, a city is considered a settlement with a population of more than 12 thousand people, 85% of which are engaged in non-agricultural activities (the exception is villages - rural settlements in the North Caucasus with a population of up to 25 thousand people). The share of the urban population in Russia is 74%, the distribution of the urban population is uneven.

The population is supplemented by a number of other indicators, in particular, the ratio of able-bodied and disabled population. The latter, in turn, depends on the age structure, type of reproduction, gender structure, etc. On the whole, in developing countries, labor resources, as a rule, make up 50-55% of the total population. In developed countries, this figure rises to 60% or more (Appendix 30).

In the context of the development of scientific and technological revolution, it is not the absolute value of labor resources that comes to the fore, but their quality, primarily the educational and qualification level. And according to this indicator, economically developed countries have an undeniable advantage.

Significant differences between countries and their groups are also observed in terms of the degree of use and the structure of employment of labor resources. In almost all countries of the world, not all of the able-bodied population takes part in social production, which is associated with unemployment, education, family and other circumstances. That part of the able-bodied population that participates in social production or wishes to participate in it is called the economically active population. In the whole world, it makes up about 3/4 of all labor resources and more than 40% of its total population. However, in developed countries, the share of the economically active population, which is about 45-47%, is somewhat higher than in the group of developing countries, where it ranges from 40 to 45%. Such differences in the degree of use of labor resources and the share of the economically active population are explained by the level of socio-economic development of individual states and their groups.

In the vast majority of countries in the world, the degree of use of male labor is much higher than that of women. However, in recent decades there has been a trend towards an increase in the labor activity of women and an increase in the proportion of women in the economically active population.

Very significant differences between individual countries and their socioeconomic groups are also observed in the sectoral structure of employment of the economically active population. The global trend is an increase in the proportion of people employed in the non-production sector, with a corresponding decrease in the share of those employed in the sphere of material production. This is most characteristic of economically developed countries, where the share of people employed in the service sector already reaches 2/3 or more of the economically active population.