Brazil’s geography is mostly continental, with a few small islands that are economically and geographically closely connected with the mainland. The five geographic regions in the country are different in terms of demography. For instance, while the southeast region (that covers 11% of the Brazilian territory) accounts for 43% of the population and 56% of the gross domestic product; the north region (containing most of the Amazon forest) is the second poorest region, after the northeast region, and has the lowest population density (3.9 people per Km²) (Paim et al., 2011). In general, Brazil has a population density of 24.66 inhabitants per square kilometre. Around 76% of the Brazilian population live in urban areas which correspond to 26% of the municipalities; whereas about 60% of the municipalities are considered rural and encompass 17% of the population (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, 2012).

References:

Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. (2012). Nova proposta de classificacao territorial mostra um brasil menos urbano. https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br/agencia-noticias/2012-agencia-de-noticias/noticias/15007-nova-proposta-de-classificacao-territorial-mostra-um-brasil-menos-urbano

Paim, J., Travassos, C., Almeida, C., Bahia, L., & Macinko, J. (2011). The Brazilian health system: History, advances, and challenges. The Lancet, 377(9779), 1778–1797. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60054-8

Hong Kong, a small urban city located at the south-eastern tip of China, has a total surface area of 1,106.66 km² that consists of the Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories and 263 outlying islands (HKSAR Government, 2019a). It is one of the most densely populated places in the world with a population density of 6,890 people per km² in 2018 (Census and Statistics Department, 2019i). The proportion of urban population in Hong Kong is 100% of its total population since 1993 (World Bank, 2018). Hong Kong is geographically and administratively divided in 18 districts.

References:

Census and Statistics Department. (2019i). Table E489: Land area, mid-year population and population density by District Council district. Retrieved from: https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp150.jsp?productCode=D5320189

HKSAR Government. (2019a, February 2019). GovHK: Hong Kong – the Facts. Retrieved from https://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/facts.htm

World Bank. (2018). Urban population (% of total population) Retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=HK

The population density of India has increased from 324 persons per square kilometer in 2001 to 382 persons per square kilometers in 2011 (Census of India, 2011), which is an increase of 57 more people per square kilometer (Census of India, 2011). With respect to urban and rural population distribution, the Census of 2011 reports that from the total population of 1.2 billion, the rural and urban population accounted for 833.5 million (68.8%) and 377.1 million (31.2%), respectively (Chandramouli, 2011).

References:

Census of India. (2011). Density of India. Available from https://www.census2011.co.in/density.php

Chandramouli, C. (2011). RURAL URBAN DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION: Provisional Population Totals. Available from https://hetv.org/india/india-rural-urban-distribution-of-population-2011.pdf

According to Indonesia’s National Coordinating Agency for Survey and Mapping, the Republic of Indonesia stretches over an archipelago of 13,466 islands out of which 922 are permanently inhabited. However, there is some debate regarding the exact number of islands (Hidayat, 2017). The five largest islands are Papua, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi (Adam et al., 2019; Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia Washington DC, 2017). The country has a tropical climate, with hot and humid weather all year long (CIA World Factbook, 2019).

The majority of the population is concentrated on the islands of Java and Sumatra (CIA World Factbook, 2019). Java, one of the world’s most densely populated island, houses the majority of the Indonesian population, despite only covering 7% of the total land territory of the country (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2017). Just over half of the Indonesian population (55.3% in 2018) is estimated to live in urban areas. The largest urban areas are the capital Jakarta (10.517 million, 2018) Bekasi (3.2 million), Surabaya (2.9 million), Bandung (2.5 million), Medan (2.3 million), and Tangerang (2.22 million) (CIA World Factbook, 2019).

References:

Adam, A. W., Wolters, O. W., Mohamad, G. S., Legge, J. D., McDivitt, J. F., & Leinbach, T. R. (2019). Indonesia. https://www.britannica.com/place/Indonesia

CIA World Factbook. (2019). Indonesia. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/indonesia/

Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia Washington DC. (2017). Facts & Figures. https://www.embassyofindonesia.org/index.php/basic-facts/

Hidayat, R. (2017, June 7). Indonesia counts its islands to protect territory and resources. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40168981

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2017). Java. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Java-island-Indonesia

Jamaica has a total surface area of 11,424 km² with a population density of 271 persons per square kilometre of land area (Inter-American Culture and Development Foundation, 2011). Jamaica is located 150 km south of  Cuba and 160 km west of Haiti. Volcanic in origin, Jamaica has three landforms: the eastern mountains, the central valleys, and plateaus, and a narrow, discontinuous coastal plain where agricultural production is concentrated. The Blue Mountain Peak, the island’s highest point, has an elevation of 2,256m and is famous for its coffee.

The island is divided into three counties – Cornwall, Middlesex, and Surrey – which are subdivided into 14 parishes (JIS, 2018). Each parish has a capital town, which is typically the centre of commerce. Two parish capital towns, Montego Bay in St. James, and Kingston, have city status. Kingston, located on the island’s southeast end, is Jamaica’s capital (JIS, 2018).

Jamaica’s 2011 population census estimated that approximately 54.0% of the population resides in urban areas, reflecting a growth in urban population rates of 7.2% compared to the previous census conducted in 2001. As of 2018, the largest proportion of the population lived in the Kingston and St. Andrew parishes (24.6%), with St. Catherine (the capital of which is Spanish Town) ranking second (19.0%) (STATIN, 2018). Recently regarded as an archipelagic state by the Maritime Areas Act, Jamaica’s territory extends beyond its coastline to comprise some 66 islands, rocks, and cays (JIS, 2018).

References:

Inter-American Culture and Development Foundation. (2011). Atlas of Cultural Heritage and Infrastructure of the Americas: Jamaica. http://www.jnht.com/documents/atlas_jm.pdf

Jamaica Information Service (JIS). (2018). Parish Profiles, Overview of Jamaica. Available from: https://jis.gov.jm/information/parish-profiles/

Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). (2018). End of Year Population by Parish. https://statinja.gov.jm/Demo_SocialStats/EndofYearPopulationbyParish.aspx

Geographically and administratively, the country is divided into 47 counties. Since 2013, each county is responsible for county legislation and executive functions transferred from the national government.

Geography^[1]

Mexico’s territory covers 1.9 million square kilometres of continental surface, 5,127 square kilometres of island surface, and 3.1 million square kilometres of exclusive zone in the oceans, resulting in a total area exceeding five million squared kilometres. The country shares a 5,000-kilometre border in the North with the United States, and in the South, Mexico shares an 871-kilometre border with Guatemala and a 251-kilometre border with Belize. Geopolitically, Mexico is generally considered to be part of North America.

Almost all the country’s territory is on the North American Plate, with small parts of the Baja California Peninsula in the Northwest on the Pacific and Cocos Plates. Situated atop three of the large tectonic plates that constitute the Earth’s surface, Mexico is one of the most seismologically active regions on Earth. The motions of these plates cause earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Mexican Territory gave rise to numerous mountain systems, mainly the Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre del Sur, and the Cordillera Neovolcánica or Eje Volcánico Transversal (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt). In the country, much of the volcanic activity is related to the subduction zone formed by the tectonic plates of Rivera and Cocos in contact with the great North American plate and has its volcanic expression in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. These are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, also called the Circum-Pacific Belt that surrounds the Pacific and gives the area a continuous high volcanic activity.

Population density

According to the 2010 Census (INEGI, 2010b), 78% of the total population lived in urban areas and 22% in rural areas (rural populations are defined as localities with less than 2,500 inhabitants, and urban localities as those with total population of 2,500 or above). In 1950 just under 43% of the population in Mexico lived in urban areas, by 1990 it was 71% and by 2010 this figure increased to almost 78% (INEGI, 2010b).

In 2010 the population density at national level was estimated at 57.3 inhabitants per square kilometre, this increased to 61 by 2015. The capital of the country, Mexico City, stands out with the highest density at 5,967 inhabitants/km2, followed by the state of Mexico, with a density of 724 inhabitants/km². On the other hand, the populations with the lowest number of inhabitants per square kilometre are Baja California Sur with 10 and Durango with 14 inhabitants/km2 (INEGI, 2010b, 2015c).

[1] Data presented is a summary of the following sources: INEGI. 2008. Referencias geográficas y extensión territorial de México, INEGI: Mexico; López de Llergo, R. Principales rasgos geográficos de la República Mexicana. Investigaciones Geográficas, Boletín del Instituto de Geografía, UNAM No. 50, 2003, pp. 26-41; the Mexican Geological System (https://www.sgm.gob.mx/Web/MuseoVirtual/Riesgos-geologicos/Volcanes-de-Mexico.html )

References:

INEGI. (2010b). Principales resultados del Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010. In Principales resultados del Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010. (Vol. 1).

INEGI. (2015c). Mortalidad. Esperanza de vida al nacimiento por entidad federativa.

New Zealand comprises ~600 islands with a total land mass of  ~265,000km². Almost all the population reside on the two main islands – North and South – with a smattering of other inhabited smaller islands including Stewart Island, Waiheke Island, and the Chatham & Pitt islands. New Zealand’s population density is relatively low at ~18 people per square kilometre but there is considerable variation (Statistics NZ, 2021) with a higher density in the main metropolitan areas. The North Island accounts for 77% of the population and is growing at 2.2% per year, faster than the national average of 1.4% per year. The median centre of the population (defined as the point of intersection of two lines: one equally dividing the population north and south, the other equally dividing the population east and west) is shifting further North toward Auckland, New Zealand’s centre of trade and most populous city at ~1.4 million inhabitants (figure 3). Auckland is home to close to two-thirds of the Pacific and Asian ethnic group populations (63.9 and 62.6 percent, respectively) and 51% of MELAA ethnic groups usually live there.

Urbanisation is ~86%, with most of the population living in or around a major city (World Population Review, 2021).

From the 2018 census (Environmental Health Intelligence New Zealand, 2018):

• 51.2% of the population lived in the 7 major urban areas (population 100,000+) of Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga, Dunedin, and Lower Hutt;
• 14.1% lived in 13 large urban areas (population 30,000-99,999) such as Rotorua, Whanganui, and Invercargill;
• 8.4% lived in 22 medium urban areas (population 10,000-29,999) such as Cambridge, Te Awamutu, and Rolleston;
• 10.0% lived in 136 small urban areas (population 1,000-9,999) such as Thames, Stratford, and Gore;
• 16.3% of New Zealanders lived in rural areas (population <1,000).

A higher proportion of the Māori population lives in small urban areas (14.7%) and rural areas (18.0%), compared with the total population (10.0% and 16.3% respectively). Most Pacific peoples in New Zealand live in major urban areas (75.7%) or large urban areas (11.6%).

References:

Environmental Health Intelligence New Zealand. (2018). Urban–rural profile. Massey University. Available from: https://ehinz.ac.nz/indicators/population-vulnerability/urbanrural-profile/.

Statistics NZ. (2021). Subnational Population Estimates: At 30 June 2021 (provisional). New Zealand Government Website. Available from: http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/SubnationalPopulationEstimates_AtJun17_MR3.aspx#gsc.tab=0.

World Population Review. (n.d.). New Zealand population. World Population Review website. Available from: https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/new-zealand-population.

South Africa’s surface area covers 1 219 602km² and hosts a wide variety of physical features such as bushveld, grasslands, forests, deserts, mountain peaks, coastal wetlands, and beaches (Countryeconomy.com, 2018; South African Government, 2018b). The country comprises of 9 provinces with a population density that varies widely across more urban versus more rural spaces. See table below for the population density for each province (according to the 2011 National Census, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_South_African_provinces_by_population_density):

Table 2: Population Density across provinces

Source: National Census 2011 at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_South_African_provinces_by_population_density

* Total population for 2011 (57.7 million in 2018).

References:

Countryeconomy.com. (2018). Countries data: Demographic and economy South Africa. Countryeconomy.Com. https://countryeconomy.com/countries/south-africa

South African Government. (2018b). Geography and climate. Republic of South Africa. Available from: https://www.gov.za/about-sa/geography-and-climate