Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management 7: Human population

Human population affects demand for land, water, food, energy, housing, transport and waste services. Population change does not automatically create the same environmental outcome everywhere. Age structure, income, consumption, settlement pattern, infrastructure and government choices all affect the result.

These notes follow sections 7.1 to 7.3 of Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management 0680 for examinations in 2027, 2028 and 2029.

7.1 Population density, distribution and structure

Population distribution describes how people are spread across an area. Population density measures how many people live in a given area, usually in people per square kilometre:

$$\text{population density} = \frac{\text{population}}{\text{land area in km}^2}$$

A sparsely populated place contains relatively few people, while a densely populated place contains many. Density is an average, so it can hide local clusters. A country with a low national density may still contain a very crowded capital city and vast almost-empty regions.