World Population and Urbanization

The Earth's population exceeded 8 billion in 2022. The distribution of the population and the growth of cities are the core of this topic.

Population Size and Growth

• Population density = population ÷ area (people/km²). For example, in a territory of 1 000 km² where 600 000 people live, the density is 600 people/km².
• Natural increase = births - deaths.
• Densely populated regions: South and East Asia, Western Europe.
• Demographic explosion: Africa and South Asia. Population ageing: Japan, Europe.
• Among the most populous countries: India and China (about 1.4 billion each), as well as the USA, Indonesia, Pakistan.

Urbanization

• Urbanization: the growth of the urban share. Today more than half of the world's population lives in cities.
• Agglomeration: merged cities.
• Megalopolis: Bosnywash (Boston-Washington), Tokaido (Japan).
• High share of urban population: Belgium, Australia, Argentina. Low: many countries of Africa and Asia.

Concept	Meaning
Density	population ÷ area
Natural increase	births - deaths
Urbanization	growth of the share of urban population
Agglomeration	a group of merged cities

Religions

World religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism. The most followers: Christianity.

The largest population since 2023 is in India, not in China. Older textbooks state that China is first.