Population

Population - the number of people living in a particular place or state.

Demography - the study of the human population.

Factors which affect the population size:

Natural population - Birth rate and death rate.

Migration - Emigration and Immigration.

Natural Population

The difference between the number of live births and the number of deaths during the year, does not consider migration. A natural increase refers to the growth of a population where the number of births exceeds the number of deaths over a specific period. A natural decrease in population.

Crude birth rate - The total number of live births compared to 1000 people living in a country for a specific time period usually a year also called natality.

\( Birth \space Rate = \cfrac{Number \space of \space Births}{Number \space of \space Population} \times 100 \)

Factors affecting birth rate

• Government policies eg. China's. one child policy
• Family planning (Trinidad vs. Haiti)
• Health care of country (Barbados vs. Grenada)
• Education level especially women
• Fertility rate
• Cost of Living

Crude death rate - the total no. of deaths compared to 1000 people in a total population in a specified area also called mortality rate a specified period of time.

\( Death \space Rate = \cfrac{Number \space of \space Deaths}{Number \space of \space Population} \times 100 \)

Factors affecting death rate

• Age of population
• Level of public health care
• Natural disasters
• Standard of diet & housing
• Access to clean drinking water
• Hygiene levels
• Level of infectious disease
• Conflict
• Amount of quality health care available.
• Crime

Population Density

Population Density refers to the population of an area divided by the unit area.

For example, the population of Dominica is 73 040 while the area of land is \( 754 km^2 \). Therefore the population density is \( 98.87/km^2 \).

Another example, the population of Trinidad & Tobago is 1.535 million and the area of land is \( 5 128 km^2 \). Therefore the population density is \( 299.33/km^2 \).

Factors Influencing Population Density

Historical Factors

• Development of ports by Europeans
• Development of urban areas
• Agricultural land used for plantations

Physical Factors

• Relief of Land
• Land Size
• Soil Fertility
• Vegetation
• Drainage of the area

Cultural Factors

• Proximity to education
• Employment availability
• Fertility rates

Socio-economic  Factors

• Availability of social services
• Business and commerce
• Employment opportunities
• Infrastructure and utilities