Economic factors of population distribution
Topic: World Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Migration · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth"
Meaning
Economic factors of population distribution are the money-and-jobs reasons that make people crowd into some places. Mineral deposits create mining jobs. Urbanisation (the growth of towns and cities) offers jobs, schools and hospitals, so people move in from villages. Industrialisation brings factory jobs, and then service jobs such as transport, banking and shops. Before industrialisation, physical conditions decided where people lived. Today, economic and political factors matter more.
Example
The Katanga-Zambia copper belt in central Africa has drawn large numbers of people because its mines create jobs. In Japan, the Kobe-Osaka industrial region is densely populated because its factories employ many workers and support many service jobs.
Don't confuse with
- Geographical factors of population distribution: these are natural conditions such as water, landforms, climate and soil. Economic factors are created by human activity, such as mining, industry and city growth.
Related concepts
- Geographical factors of population distribution
- Social and cultural factors of population distribution