Ans: The factors affecting the distribution and density of population:
No country has distribution and density of population. Some areas are
heavily populated, some lightly populated and some have an average
population. Many factors affect the distribution and density of population.
Some are natural factors and some are human factors. Their details are
given below:
i. Geographical factors:
An area which has level, soft and fertile land is easy to populate. Here
resources and means of living can be easily obtained by farming and
gardening. In such areas, living, building houses and obtaining the
necessities of life is relatively easy. That is why these areas are populated. On the other hand, rugged, terrain, mountains, forests, or barren and waste
land areas are not suitable for living. That is why such areas have a very
small population. The plain areas of Pakistan where the soil is very fertile
and cultivable have a dense population, such as the River Indus Plain, the
valleys of Peshawar and Mardan, etc.
ii. Climate:
The health of people living in a favourable climate is good. Timely rainfall
leads to high agricultural production and ready availability of food. That is
why such areas usually are heavily populated. Large ancient cities existed
near banks. Temperate and semi hot climates where there is a lot of rainfall
become densely populated. The climate of our northern mountain ranges is
very cold. The climate of Balochistan plateau and desert areas is extremely
hot. That is why these areas are not densely populated. The northern areas
of the Punjab and Karachi have a temperate climate so they are densely
populated.
iii. Mineral Sources:
In the areas which have costly mineral reserves e.g coal, iron, oil, gas or
precious stones etc, there many people gather to earn a livelihood. In such
areas, there are means of transportation as well. Near such areas, factories
are also established. Large industrial cities come into being and population
increases, like the Potowar Plateau in Pakistan.
iv. Water reserves:
Most of the population of the world is settled around water reserves. For
example, the largest and most densely populated city of Pakistan, Karachi is
located along the coast of the Arabian Sea. In Punjab and Sindh, cities with
more population are settled near rivers, whereas Shortage of water in areas
distant from water source leads to small population there.
v. Trade and industrial areas:
The areas which are located on or near trade highways have an increasing
population. Besides land routes, sea and air routes hold great importance as
well. Therefore, those cities and areas which have large seaports and
airports along with trade markets, grow in population as well. Those areas
where industries are located provide sources of income and so have more
population. Faisalabad has become the 3rd largest city of Pakistan due to
industrial development. Industries are also one of the reasons for the dense
population of Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala and Sialkot, etc.
vi. Political and social conditions:
The areas which have peaceful political conditions and where People have
social freedom and economic facilities are heavily populated. Sometimes for
religious, political or social reasons people are forced to move from one area
to another. Such is the migration of millions of Muslims from India to
Pakistan at the time of partition. They settled in different areas of Pakistan.