Population density
Also called: Density of population · Topic: Measuring Development: Income, HDI and Sustainability · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 8 "Comparative Development Experiences of India and its Neighbours"
Meaning
Population density is the number of people living on each square kilometre of land. It tells us how crowded a country is. A crowded country faces more pressure on land, water, housing and public services.
Formula: Population density = Total population ÷ Land area (km²)
Example
The note uses 2021–23 data (WDI 2024). India has 473 people per km². Pakistan has 300 and China has 150. China has almost as many people as India: 1,411 million against 1,428 million. China is also the largest of the three in area. Because it has much more land, it is the least densely populated of the three.
Don't confuse with
- Population size: this is the total number of people. China and India have similar population sizes, but India's density is about three times China's.
- Urbanisation: this is the share of people living in towns and cities. It is not how many people live on each km² of the whole country.
Related concepts
- Population growth rate
- Sex ratio
- Son preference
- Total fertility rate
- Replacement level fertility
- Urbanisation
- Dependency ratio
- Demographic window of opportunity
- Ageing population
- Population pyramid