Maarg Manthan · Topic 17.3

Distribution and Density of Population

Geography › Human Geography and Population · Topic 17.3

Population distribution is the way people are spread over the earth's surface, and density is the number of people per unit of land. About 90 per cent of the world's people live on about 10 per cent of its land, mostly in river valleys, plains and coasts. Density is measured as arithmetic, physiological or agricultural density, and depends on geographical, economic and social factors.

6 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · Human Geography and Population

At a Glance

Concentration About 90 per cent of people live on about 10 per cent of land
Share of Asia About 60 per cent of world population
Arithmetic density People per sq km of total land
Physiological density People per sq km of net sown area
India 382 per sq km in 2011
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: Human Geography and Population

Where Does It Fit?

This is the third topic of the macro on human geography and population. The previous topic explained the link between humans and their environment, and this one shows where people live and how densely. The next topic covers population growth and the demographic transition. Previous topic: Environment and Human Interrelationship. Next topic: Population Change and Demographic Transition.

How Is Population Distributed in the World?

In short: people crowd into the world’s fertile, watered, low-lying and industrial places, and leave the cold, dry, high and dense forest areas almost empty.

Population distribution is uneven. Roughly 90 per cent of the world’s people live on about 10 per cent of its land area, and the ten most populous countries together hold well over half of the total, six of them in Asia. Asia has around three-fifths of the world’s population on less than a third of its land, and Africa, Europe, North America and South America follow. The world population reached 8 billion in November 2022 and is about 8.2 billion in 2025. India, with around 1.46 billion people, became the most populous country in 2023, passing China.

Densely populated regions: South Asia, East Asia (the plains of China, Japan, Java), Southeast Asia, Western and Central Europe, and the north-eastern United States.
Sparsely populated regions: the polar areas, hot and cold deserts, high mountains, equatorial rainforests (the Amazon and Congo basins), and the northern coniferous forests.
Ecumene and anecumene: the ecumene is the permanently inhabited part of the earth, and the anecumene is the uninhabited or little inhabited part.

What Factors Influence Distribution?

Group	Factor	Effect
Geographical	Water	People prefer places where fresh water is easily available; river valleys such as the Ganga, Nile, Yangtze and Indus are among the densest regions
Geographical	Landforms	Plains and gentle slopes favour crops, roads and industries, so the Ganga plain is densely populated, while the Himalaya is scarcely populated
Geographical	Climate	Extremes of heat, cold or rain deter settlement; pleasant climates, such as the Mediterranean, attracted people from early times
Geographical	Soils	Fertile loamy and alluvial soils support intensive agriculture and large populations, as in Major Soil Groups of India
Economic	Minerals	Mining attracts industry and workers, as in the Chotanagpur plateau or the Zambian copper belt
Economic	Urbanisation and industrialisation	Cities and industrial belts, such as Kobe-Osaka in Japan, draw people through jobs and services
Social, cultural and political	Religion, culture, stability	Pilgrimage centres attract people, while conflict and unrest push them away; government policies on resettlement or on birth rates matter too

Technology can alter the pattern: irrigation has populated the Rajasthan desert along the Indira Gandhi Canal, and air transport and mining have created towns in remote areas, as in Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra Plain.

How Is Density Measured, and What Is the Pattern in India?

Population density is the number of people per unit area of land, and it can be measured in three ways.

Measure	Meaning	Use
Arithmetic (crude) density	Total population divided by total area	The common measure; hides variation within a country
Physiological density	Total population divided by net cultivated area	Shows pressure on agricultural land; higher in countries with little arable land
Agricultural density	Agricultural population divided by net cultivated area	Shows the pressure of farmers on land; high in the countries of South and Southeast Asia

India’s density rose from 117 persons per sq km in 1951 to 382 in 2011, which is an increase of more than 200 persons in 60 years. The pattern is very uneven. Delhi had 11,297 persons per sq km and Chandigarh 9,252 in 2011, and among larger states Bihar had 1,102 and West Bengal 1,029, while Arunachal Pradesh had 17 and Mizoram 52. Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state with about 16.5 per cent of the national total, followed by Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal, as in India Census 2011 – Key Population Patterns. The Ganga plains, deltas and coasts are dense, and the Himalaya, the dry west, the interior of the south and central India, and the north-east are sparse, though irrigation (Rajasthan), minerals (Jharkhand) and transport (the Peninsula) have raised the numbers in places that were thinly populated earlier.

The next census, Census 2027, which began its houselisting phase in April 2026 and will count people in February 2027, will update these figures after 16 years, so the numbers above are a baseline and not the current state. As an analytical point, density alone does not measure stress: Kerala and the Netherlands manage high densities with good services, whereas thinly populated hill areas can be under severe pressure because the cultivable land is small, and so physiological density and the carrying capacity are better indicators for planning.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Concepts Types of density asked
India State patterns
Planning Carrying capacity

What Came Next?

The next topic describes population growth, its components and the demographic transition. Next topic: Population Change and Demographic Transition.

Key People and Terms

Density People per unit area
Physiological density People per cultivated area
Ecumene Permanently inhabited area
Anecumene Uninhabited area
Carrying capacity Population an area can support
Distribution Spread of people over space

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

90 per cent of people live on 10 per cent of land.
India’s density: 117 in 1951, 382 in 2011.
Bihar is the densest large state.
Arunachal has the lowest density.
Physiological density uses cultivated land.

Do Not Confuse With

Arithmetic and physiological density Total area versus cultivated area
Distribution and density Spread versus concentration
Ecumene and anecumene Inhabited versus uninhabited

Memory Hook

Water, plains, climate and soil pull; minerals and cities add; deserts, ice and peaks push.

Mains Angle

Questions ask for factors and India’s pattern. These points add depth.

Factors Physical, economic, social
Measure Three types of density
India Plains dense, hills sparse

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Explain the factors influencing the distribution of population in the world and account for the uneven distribution in India.”

How to Answer

Pattern Concentration in a few areas.
Factors Geographical, economic, social.
Density Three measures.
India State contrast.

GS Relevance

Prelims: types of density, factors, densely and sparsely populated regions, India's pattern. GS Paper 1: population and settlements.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is population distribution?

Population distribution refers to the way people are spread across the earth's surface. It is highly uneven: about 90 per cent of the world's people live in about 10 per cent of the land area, concentrated in river valleys, fertile plains and coasts, and very few in deserts, polar areas and high mountains.

What factors influence the distribution of population?

Distribution is influenced by geographical factors such as water, landforms, climate and soils, economic factors such as minerals, urbanisation and industrialisation, and social, cultural and political factors such as religion, stability and government policy. Plains with water and fertile soil are the most densely populated.

What is the difference between physiological and arithmetic density?

Arithmetic density is the total population divided by the total land area. Physiological density is the total population divided by the net cultivated area, so it shows how much pressure the people place on arable land, and is higher than arithmetic density in countries with little cultivable land.

Which Indian states have the highest and lowest density of population?

According to the Census of 2011, Delhi had the highest density at 11,297 persons per square kilometre, followed by Chandigarh and Puducherry, and among large states Bihar had 1,102. Arunachal Pradesh had the lowest density at 17 persons per square kilometre, followed by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Mizoram.

Why is the Ganga plain densely populated?

The Ganga plain has fertile alluvial soil, flat land, plentiful water from perennial rivers and canals, a favourable climate and a long history of settled agriculture. These conditions support intensive farming, dense transport networks and many cities, so it is one of the most densely populated regions of the world.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 Physiological density is the ratio of total population to net cultivated area.

True

It measures pressure on farmland.

2 Mountains and deserts generally have dense populations.

False

They are sparsely populated.

3 Delhi had the highest population density among Indian states and Union Territories in 2011.