What is the difference between population size and population density

Q: Why population size and density is important?

A populations size refers to the number of individuals (N) it comprises. Its density is the number of individuals within a given area or volume. These data allow scientists to model the fluctuations of a population over time. For example, a larger population may be more stable than a smaller population.

A population is a subgroup of individuals within the same species that are living and breeding within a geographic area. The number of individuals living within that specific location determines the population density, or the number of individuals divided by the size of the area.

Table of Contents Show

Key Areas Covered
What is Population Density
Similarities Between Population Density and Population Distribution
Difference Between Population Density and Population Distribution
Significance
About the Author: Lakna
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What defines the size of a population?
Why population size and density is important?
What is the difference between population size density and dispersion?
What is population density?

Population density can be used to describe the location, growth, and migration of many organisms. In the case of humans, population density is often discussed in relation to urbanization, immigration, and population demographics.

Globally, statistics related to population density are tracked by the United Nations Statistics Division, and the United States Constitution requires population data to be collected every 10 years, an operation carried out by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, data on human population density at the country level, and even at regional levels, may not be very informative; society tends to form clusters that can be surrounded by sparsely inhabited areas. Therefore, the most useful data describes smaller, more discrete population centers.

Dense population clusters generally coincide with geographical locations often referred to as city, or as an urban or metropolitan area; sparsely populated areas are often referred to as rural. These terms do not have globally agreed upon definitions, but they are useful in general discussions about population density and geographic location.

Population density data can be important for many related studies, including studies of ecosystems and improvements to human health and infrastructure. For example, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. Global Change Research Program, and the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture all use population data from the U.S. Census or UN statistics to understand and better predict resource use and health trends.

Key areas of study include the following:

This list is not inclusive—the way society structures its living spaces affects many other fields of study as well. Scientists have even studied how happiness correlates with population density. A substantial area of study, however, focuses on demographics of populations as they relate to density. Areas of demographic breakdown and study include, but are not limited to:

The main difference between population density and population distribution is that the population density is the number of individuals per unit land whereas the population distribution is the spreading of people over an area of land. Furthermore, population density is unable to describe where the population actually lives, unlike population distribution.

Population density and population distribution are two measurements of population used in a variety of applications in ecology.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Population Density
– Definition, Features, Examples
2. What is Population Distribution
– Definition, Features, Examples
3. What are the Similarities Between Population Density and Population Distribution
– Outline of Common Features
4. What is the Difference Between Population Density and Population Distribution
– Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Advantages, Disadvantages, Population Density, Population Distribution

What is Population Density

Population density is the number of individuals that live in a unit area in a specified time. As an example, the population density of China is 144 people per square km in 2012. The density of the population of a particular area is determined by the geographical features such as the shape and the height of the land, available resources, climate, etc.

Figure 1: World Human Population Density Map

When it comes to the human population, these factors can be economic, social, and political. Populations with high density can have some advantages:

Strong economic system
People can have more opportunities
Easy access to resources

Populations with less density have their own disadvantages as well:

Population starts to decrease due to the less number of individuals in it.
Predators can easily catch individuals.

A distributed population has several advantages over dense population to a certain extent. As an example, the natural conditions of China leads to the unevenly distributed population.

Figure 2: World Population Distribution

An evenly distributed population has its own benefits. Some of them are described below:

Each individual can occupy a sufficient area for living.
They have more privacy; less peer pressure.
They can use renewable energy sources.
They can live in a cleaner environment.
They are far away from danger.

The less distributed population has its disadvantages as described below:

Spread of diseases is high in dense areas.
Air, water, and land pollution become increased.
Food sources become less abundant.

Similarities Between Population Density and Population Distribution

Population density and population distribution are two measurements of population used in ecology.
A specific time period and a geological location have to be mentioned while describing both parameters.

Difference Between Population Density and Population Distribution

Definition

Population density refers to a measure of the number of organisms that make up a population in a defined area while population distribution refers to the arrangement of the population on a certain area in accordance with conditions and requirements of the society. This explains the difference between population density and population distribution.

Significance

Population density describes the number of individuals in a particular population inside a unit area of land while population distribution describes the variability of the spread of the population in a particular area.

Examples

As an example, the population density of Canada is 4 people per square km in 2012 while 86.2% of people in Canada lived in Ontario, BC, Quebec, and Alberta at the beginning of 2013.

Conclusion

Population density is the number of individuals in a unit area of land under a defined time period. But, population distribution is the concentration of individuals in a particular area. The main difference between population density and population distribution is the type of parameters described by each measurement.

Reference:

1. “Population Size, Density, & Dispersal.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, Available Here

Image Courtesy:

1. “World human population density map” (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “World population distribution” By The original uploader was Urocyon at English Wikipedia. – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Undead_warrior. (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia

About the Author: Lakna

Lakna, a graduate in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, is a Molecular Biologist and has a broad and keen interest in the discovery of nature related things

What defines the size of a population?

Population Size The most fundamental demographic parameter is the number of individuals within a population (Lebreton et al. 1992). Population size is defined as the number of individuals present in a subjectively designated geographic range.

Why population size and density is important?

A population's size refers to the number of individuals (N) it comprises. Its density is the number of individuals within a given area or volume. These data allow scientists to model the fluctuations of a population over time. For example, a larger population may be more stable than a smaller population.

What is the difference between population size density and dispersion?

Populations have several characteristics that ecologists use to describe them. How individuals are arranged in space, or dispersion, informs us about environmental associations and social interactions among individuals in the population. How many organisms there are per unit area is referred to as density.

What is population density?

Population density tells you how crowded an area is, on average. It can help in figuring out the resources that a certain area requires. The formula for calculating the population density is: Population Density = Number of People / Land Area.