What does the term population density mean?

Answer 1

Let's say you have a room 10 feet square. That's 100 square feet of floor area. If there are two people in that room, then the population density of that room is 2 people per 100 square feet. OR 1 person per 50 square feet. Now say some friends join you...18 more people for a total of 20 people in that one room. Now the population density of the room has risen to 20 people per 100 sq ft... or 10 people per 50 sq ft, or, 2 people per 20 square feet. Obviously the room with the higher density is gonna feel a lot more cramped than the room with the lower density. In looking at countries, or cities, Population density is some measure of area divided by the population of that area. it can reflect urbanization, as high rise buildings can cram an awful lot of people into a very small area... And it can also reflect resources... Manhatten, for example, has a very high population density... however, the United States as a whole... because of its vast amount of land, much of which is empty, shows a very LOW population density compared to many other nations. To most Americans, living in urban areas, our population density seem high ( rush hour traffic).. But those living in the Mojave Desert think the place is nearly uninhabited.
Population density of a place (country, state, city, county, providence) or area is the equivalent of how many people there are per square mile of the place. It is computed by dividing the total population of the place by the area of the place - usually in square miles.

In most of the world the area would be measured in square kilometres.
Population density is a measure of how close people live together.

It is generally described in people per square mile.

For example, the United States has a population density of 83.022 people per square mile.