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Module 7 Population Distribution and Its%u00a0Consequences 103island of Taiwan. The population of China alone exceeds 1.4 billion people. Before India surpassed China in population in April 2023, China held the distinction for many centuries. This huge population poses several challenges for the Chinese government, such as meeting the people%u2019s demands for education, employment, and housing. However, China%u2019s population growth has slowed steadily The World%u2019s Four Major Population ClustersTo show the unevenness in global population distribution, geographers have identified four heavily populated areas, or population clusters, on Earth: South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe (see Figure 7.1). These four clusters account for 63 percent of the world%u2019s total population but less than 20 percent of Earth%u2019s land area. Three of the clusters are in Asia, reflecting the continent%u2019s massively populated river valleys and coastal plains. These four population clusters are described below in descending order of their population size.South AsiaSouth Asia, the largest of the four population clusters, is home to nearly one-quarter of the world%u2019s people, who are crowded into an area that is less than half the size of the United States. The countries of South Asia include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the island countries of Maldives and Sri Lanka. The major plains associated with the Indus River in Pakistan, the Ganges River in northern India, and the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh are particularly densely populated. Four cities in the region, Delhi and Mumbai in India, Dhaka in Bangladesh, and Karachi in Pakistan, are metacities, with more than 20 million residents. Five other cities%u2014 Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kolkata in India and Lahore in Pakistan%u2014are megacities, with more than 10 million people.Imagine that you live in Delhi. How would your daily life be different in this city of 33 million people? You might be living in a high-rise apartment building in a massive residential complex. The shops, movie theaters, and parks are usually crowded, and the bus that takes you to school in the morning might have to negotiate its way through heavy rush hour traffic (Figure 7.2). Despite its crowded cities, South Asia is still predominantly a region of farmers. With only 37 percent of urban population, South Asia has the lowest urbanization level of major world regions.East AsiaEast Asia is home to more than one-fifth of the world%u2019s population, mainly concentrated in eastern China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and the TERMS TO KNOWpopulation clusters: Heavily populated areas that illustrate the unevenness in global population distribution; geographers have identified four population clusters on Earth: South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europemetacity: A city with more than 20 million residentsmegacity: A city with more than 10 million residentsAP%u00ae Exam TipSpatial patterns of population are critical in understanding population patterns. The term cluster is spatial. Keep in mind how clusters impact the geographic aspects of population and why nearby places tend to have similar demographic patterns.Figure 7.2 Crowded street in India. Cities in densely populated countries such as India are teeming with people and different kinds of vehicles. Navigating in these places can be a challenge. Marcia Chambers/dbimages/Alamy%u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.