2. Population distribution in Africa
1. The population of Africa is not evenly distributed. ( that means some areas are
densely populated while others are sparsely populated)
2. Africa has a population approximately 800 million people on area of 30 km² (
square kilometres).
3. Population density is the total number of people per square kilometres.
4. The densely populated areas in of Africa are the highlands, mining areas,
industrial areas and major towns and cities.
3. Factors influencing
population distribution
1. Climate: Many people settle in areas that have
enough rainfall for farming.
2. Relief: People like to settle in areas where
they can construct houses, railways and roads.
4.
5. Factors influencing population distribution
3. Vegetation: Dense forests do not attract people
because such forests have dangerous wild animals.
Governments often protect forest reserves.
6. Factors influencing population distribution
4. Soils: areas with rich and fertile soils, especially if they are
found in high rainfall areas attract settlements. For example, the
Nile valley and the Ethiopian Highlands attract large population.
5. Urbanization: People migrate from rural areas to look for jobs in
towns.
6. Pests and diseases: When pests are common in a place, they cause
diseases which kill people and animals. For example, presence of
tsetse flies has discouraged settlement in Miombo woodlands in
Tanzania, Lambwe valley in Kenya.
7. Factors influencing population distribution
7. Government Policy: The government can decide to move people away
from one part of the country to another.
8. War: Movement of refugees into a country in large numbers can
increase its population significantly
9. Historical factors like colonisation: In some cases, the colonial
government set up reserves where there was high population and set
aside large areas of land for plantations where the population was low
10. Slave trade: During slave trade many people were taken away from
some countries and sold away as slaves. This left some areas with low
population.
11. Social factors: People like to settle where they can reach social
facilities like schools, hospitals, shops and markets.
