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The World’s Four Major TERMS TO KNOW . . .
Population Clusters
population clusters: Heavily populated areas that
To show the unevenness in global population distribu- illustrate the unevenness in global population
tion, geographers have identified four heavily populated distribution; geographers have identified four
areas, or population clusters, on Earth: South Asia, East population clusters on Earth: South Asia, East Asia,
Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe (see Figure 7.1). These Southeast Asia, and Europe
four clusters account for nearly two-thirds of the world’s metacity: A city with more than 20 million residents
total population but less than 20 percent of Earth’s land megacity: A city with more than 10 million residents
area. Three of the clusters are in Asia, reflecting the con-
tinent’s massively populated river valleys and coastal
plains. These four population clusters are described China is nearly 1.4 billion people, making it the world’s
below in descending order of their population size. most populous country, a distinction it has held for many
centuries. This huge population poses several challenges
South Asia South Asia, the largest of the four population for the Chinese government, such as meeting the peo-
clusters, is home to nearly one-quarter of the world’s ple’s demands for education, employment, and housing.
people, who are crowded into an area that is less than However, China’s population is not growing as rapidly
half the size of the United States. The countries of South as it once was, due to its strict birth control policies that
Asia include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Paki- have been in place since the 1970s. These policies have
stan, and the island countries of Maldives and Sri Lan- been so effective that India’s population may exceed Chi-
ka. The major plains associated with the Indus River na’s population in the near future.
in Pakistan, the Ganges River in northern India, and As in South Asia, the river valleys and fertile
the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh are particular- plains of East Asia are particularly densely populated.
ly densely populated. Two cities in the region, Delhi in A remarkable feature of China’s population distribu-
India and Karachi in Pakistan, are metacities, with more tion is that it overlaps with the distribution of its cul-
than 20 million residents. Four other cities — Mumbai tivated land: wherever there is good farmland, there
and Kolkata in India, Dhaka in Bangladesh,
and Lahore in Pakistan — are megacities, with
more than 10 million people. Two other Indian
cities, Bengaluru and Chennai, are rapidly
approaching the megacity status.
Imagine that you live in Delhi. How would
your daily life be different in this city of 25 mil-
lion 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 traf-
fic (Figure 7.2). Despite its crowded cities, South
Asia is still predominantly a region of farmers,
with almost two-thirds of the people living in
rural villages.

East Asia East Asia is home to more than one-fifth
of the world’s population, mainly concentrated Figure 7.2 Crowded street in India. Cities in densely populated countries such
in eastern China, Japan, the Korean Peninsu- as India are teeming with people and different kinds of vehicles. Navigating in
la, and the island of Taiwan. The population of these places can be a challenge. Marcia Chambers/dbimages / Alamy

Module 7 Population Distribution and Its Consequences 7
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