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112 Unit 2 Population and Migration%u00a0Patterns and%u00a0Processesbodies, swamps), physiological density will be much higher than arithmetic density. For example, Japan%u2019s land area is 145,936 square miles (377,974 square kilometers), and its mid-2022 population was 124.9 million. We calculate Japan%u2019s arithmetic density by dividing its population by its land area, or 126.5 million %u00f7 145,936 square miles, which yields 856 people per square mile (330 people per square kilometer). This is certainly a fairly high density when we consider that the arithmetic density of the United States is just one-tenth of that. But it is physiological density that conveys the crowdedness that has defined the Japanese psyche and Japanese people%u2019s daily life. Only 11.2 percent of Japan%u2019s land, or 16,359 square miles, is arable. Dividing Japan%u2019s total population by its arable land area yields a physiological density of 7635 people per square mile, compared to about 550 people per square mile for the United States. Similarly, Egypt%u2019s arithmetic density is 267 people per square mile, but its physiological density is 8900 people per square mile because only about 3 percent of Egypt%u2019s land, mostly along the Nile River, is suitable for farming (Figure 7.11).areas having more than 250 persons per square mile (100 or more per square kilometer). Population density in many crowded urban areas can be tens or even hundreds of times higher. At the other end of the spectrum, largely unpopulated areas have fewer than 2 persons per square mile (less than 1 per square kilometer). Between these two extremes are moderately settled areas, with 60 to 250 persons per square mile (25 to 100 per square kilometer), and thinly settled areas, inhabited by 3 to 59 persons per square mile (2 to 24 per square kilometer).Country-level population density varies a great deal, too. For example, Australia has only 8 persons per square mile (3 per square kilometer), but Bangladesh has 3020 persons per square mile (1165 per square kilometer). As an extreme case, Monaco%u2014a microstate in Europe%u2014has a population density of 47,000 people per square mile (18,000 people per square kilometer).Arithmetic density can be misleading because it masks the considerable geographic variation in population density within a country. That is, arithmetic density does not reflect how the population is actually distributed. Assume there are two countries of the same size and population. Country A is very mountainous, so its residents are concentrated in a few narrow coastal plains. Country B is much flatter, so its population is more evenly spread out. Both countries have the same arithmetic density, which might falsely suggest that these countries%u2019 inhabitants are evenly distributed across their land area. However, the residents of Country A are likely to feel far more crowded because they are concentrated in a small inhabitable area.Physiological DensityTo mitigate the drawbacks associated with arithmetic density, geographers use another density measure called physiological density, which is the average number of people per unit area (a square mile or kilometer) of arable land%u2014that is, land suitable for cultivation. We calculate physiological density by dividing a country%u2019s population by the amount of its arable land. Again, the higher the number, the more crowded a country is.In countries with a significant portion of land that cannot be used to grow crops (deserts, mountains, water TERMS TO KNOWphysiological density: The average number of people per unit area (a square mile or kilometer) of arable landarable land: Land suitable for cultivationFigure 7.11 The Nile River Valley. About 3 percent of Egypt%u2019s land is suitable for farming, mostly along the Nile River. On this satellite image, the Nile River and its delta are clearly visible. World History Archive/Alamy Stock Photo%u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.