Skip to main content. RA IRR. Memo Circulars Memo Orders. National Regional. Population and Housing Population Projection Statistics. Reports Technical Notes. Previous Release. Settlements are also concentrated in the riverine plains of the Senegal and Niger rivers, where perennial water availability supports irrigated agriculture of rice and high value garden crops.
In the densely forested southern part of the region, which has historically been more difficult to develop, rural population densities are generally lower than in the open savanna. However, along the coast, population densities are driven up by a large number of coastal settlements, including some major urban agglomerations. The map of population densities above shows higher population densities in Nigeria than in any other West African country.
Indeed, almost half of West Africans are Nigerian, and with over million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in the entire African continent. The remaining 16 countries account for the other half of the West African population, with Ghana coming in at a distant second 7. As noted above, the administrative boundaries used to delineate each region can have a considerable influence on these results. That said, population density was also very high in the three regions bordering directly onto the French capital Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne , with much lower values for the next concentric ring of regions around the capital Essonne, Yvelines and Seine-et-Marne.
The lowest level of population among EU capital regions was recorded in Vilniaus apskritis Lithuania , at Cyprus had a population density of At the other end of the range there remain large expanses of the EU where relatively few people are living.
Nowhere was this more apparent than in Lappi — the northernmost region of Finland — which had the lowest population density in the EU, at 1.
As noted above, regional population projections suggest that demographic ageing will continue across the EU as a result of persistently low fertility rates and extended longevity. The social and economic consequences of this process are likely to have profound implications both nationally and regionally, for example, impacting the capacity of governments to raise tax revenue, or provide adequate pensions and healthcare services.
These challenges are likely to be more intensely felt in those regions from which younger and working-age people relocate. That said, the elderly have been most impacted by the COVID pandemic in terms of morbidity and mortality see the article on health for more details.
As a result, regions characterised by high shares of elderly populations are more likely to have witnessed rapid changes in their population structures during the pandemic.
The median age is an indicator that may be used to analyse population ageing. The median age of the EU population was Over a period of 19 years, the median age in the EU increased by more than five years, to stand at These regions were often characterised by relatively low levels of disposable income and relatively high unemployment rates when compared with other regions in Germany.
The median age of the population was also relatively high in a number of Spanish and Italian regions that were characterised by relatively low fertility rates and rural depopulation in part reflecting a range of push factors that encourage younger people to leave their region. In these two Italian regions, population ageing was enhanced as their coastlines provided popular retirement destinations thereby pulling in additional old people.
Capital regions often exert a considerable pull on international and inter-regional migrants, as they tend to provide a wide range of educational and employment opportunities. This process can lead to a shift in population structures, with younger people accounting for a growing share of the total population in capital regions; over time, this pattern may self-propagate, insofar as populations with younger age structures are more likely to have relatively high birth rates.
There were 75 regions across the EU with old-age dependency ratios of at least It is calculated as the number of elderly people aged 65 years or more compared with the number of working-age people defined here as those aged years. In other words, there were slightly fewer than four adults of working age for every person aged 65 years or more. The old-age dependency ratio had risen to These 75 regions were predominantly characterised as rural, mountainous or relatively remote, where it is likely that younger people have left the region in which they grew up so they could continue their studies or look for alternative and perhaps more varied work.
Some of the highest old-age dependency ratios were concentrated in eastern Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Finland. The mountainous, central Greek region of Evrytania had the highest old-age dependency ratio on 1 January , at It was followed by the north-western Belgian region of Arr.
Veurne During the next three decades, old-age dependency ratios are projected to increase in all but one region of the EU. As noted above, there were 75 regions across the EU out of a total of 1 NUTS level 3 regions with an old-age dependency ratio of at least Over the next three decades, old-age dependency ratios are projected to increase in all but one of these 1 regions [1] and by 1 January the projections indicate that there will be regions where the old-age dependency ratio has risen to at least While an ageing population has traditionally been seen as a concern — based upon the assumption that older people have to be economically supported by those of working age — this view is evolving.
As people live healthier and longer lives, they may choose or be able to work later in life, thereby increasing economic activity at older ages. EU regions with relatively high levels of fertility are protected, to some degree, from the impact of population ageing. One factor which may explain the relatively low levels of fertility in the EU is the growing proportion of women giving birth later in life.
In , there were 4. The vast majority of regions in the EU had a total fertility rate that was below the natural replacement rate. The total fertility rate is defined as the mean number of children who would be born to a woman during her lifetime, if she were to spend her childbearing years conforming to the age-specific fertility rates of a given year.
The regional distribution of this indicator was somewhat skewed insofar as there were NUTS level 3 regions where the total fertility rate was below the EU average as shown by the blue shades in Map 4 , while there were regions where the rate was as high as the EU average or higher as shown by the orange shades. Across most of the EU Member States, predominantly urban regions which tend to have a higher proportion of young people generally recorded higher fertility rates than predominantly rural, remote and sparsely-populated regions.
Of the 1 NUTS level 3 regions for which data are available, there were only 14 where the total fertility rate was at least 2. Aside from these, the highest fertility rate in the EU was recorded in the eastern Romanian region of Vaslui 2.
Asia comprises about Africa is the world's second-largest continent with 11,, square miles 30,, square kilometers of land, making up People tend to think of the seven continents in terms of large land portions. While this understanding is certainly helpful, there is much more to continents! Think about, for example, how all continents have islands that are separate from the main land mass.
Even Antarctica has islands! Consider also that Europe and Asia are part of the same land mass but are deemed to be two separate continents. This separation is because the cultures on one side of the land mass are substantially different from the cultures on the other side. To best understand the seven continents, rather than merely thinking about land, think in terms of geographical features along with shared histories and cultures. Iceland and Greenland are far from mainland Europe, but they were both settled by Nordic peoples from Scandinavia ; therefore these areas still connect regarding a cultural ancestry with many Europeans.
However, even though Greenland is governed by Denmark and was settled by Vikings, it is considered part of North America. North America was originally inhabited by numerous tribes of Native Americans, some of which still exist and practice indigenous cultures and traditions.
However, they were overwhelmed by European settlers who brought slaves from Africa. These settlers went on to build large farms that supported large cities — and for a long time, both the farms and cities were largely supported by slave labor.
This cultural history makes the United States and Canada very similar to each other and very different from other parts of the world. But what about Mexico? In terms of geographical features, Mexico and Central America , as well as the Caribbean islands, are part of North America. This answer really depends on whether you ask a geographer or an anthropologist! Each continent is extremely diverse — even Antarctica has various teams of scientists from all over the world, as well as different animals that live there.
Think of them as mega-regions — they have some broad, general things in common, but when discussed in terms of individual people groups that live on each continent, there can be profound differences. For example, the diversity between the Yupik peoples of Alaska and the inhabitants of New Orleans, even though they are on the same continent, are probably greater than the differences between the Yupik and the Ainu peoples of Japan.
So keep in mind that studying continents requires thinking in broad, general terms that may not apply to everyone on the continent. After Asia , Africa is the largest and most populous of the seven continents. It is perhaps the most diverse in terms of cultures, languages, and people groups, some of which are still untouched by Westernization and modernity.
Paleoanthropologists believe that humans originated in Africa and that from there, they migrated throughout the rest of the world. Africa has historically been the home of many great civilizations, such as those of Ancient Egypt , Timbuktu, and Abyssinia. Today, there are 55 sovereign states in Africa, though there are thousands of people groups, many of which speak their own languages, have their own traditions and cultures, and consider themselves to be nations. Today, Africa is best understood as being divided into two regions.
North Africa is north of the Sahara desert; its countries are predominantly Muslim, and most of the people speak Arabic. Sub-Saharan Africa lies south of the Sahara desert, and while it includes many Muslim populations, it also has significant communities of Christians and other religions. Of all the seven continents, Africa suffered the worst effects of colonization.
The slave trade led to many Africans being kidnapped and sent to North America to work on plantations. Countries like Belgium , France , the Netherlands , and the United Kingdom governed countries in such a way that the people were forced into servitude. The colonial governments created countries whose borders were so arbitrary that people groups became separated from each other.
The effects on traditional, indigenous culture were disastrous. Many of the long-standing conflicts in Africa today, such as the wars in the Congo, are the legacy of colonialism. The governments of many African countries are notoriously corrupt, and sadly, genocides, such as those in Rwanda and Sudan , continue to occur. However, one success story is that of South Africa. Following the end of Dutch colonial rule, a policy of apartheid ensured that black Africans had few rights and that whites who lived there enjoyed lifestyles of privilege and prestige.
Thankfully, the fall of apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela showed that African countries could heal from the ravages of colonialism. Today in South Africa, though, there are still significant disparities between whites and blacks, and many blacks remain in dire poverty.
Today, countries in Africa have some of the lowest human development indexes HDIs in the world.
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