Meaning & use
population density
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
The average number of people living in a given area, usually per square kilometer or square mile.
Grammar: Usually uncountable, but can be used with 'a' when modified: 'a high population density'.
Patterns
- population density of a place
- high/low population density
- population density in an area
The population density of the city is over 10,000 people per square mile.
Areas with low population density often have fewer public services.
Rapid urbanization has increased population density in many coastal regions.
Common combinations
- high population density
- High population density can put pressure on housing and transport.
- low population density
- The country has a low population density because much of it is desert.
- average population density
- The average population density in the region is about 50 people per square kilometer.
- population density of
- The population density of Singapore is among the highest in the world.
- increase in population density
- The increase in population density has led to more high-rise buildings.
Synonyms and how they differ
- population concentration
- More formal and less common; it emphasizes where people are gathered rather than a measured average.
Word family
Commonly confused: population density or population distribution?
population density vs population distribution
Distribution describes how people are spread across an area, while density gives a numerical average per unit of area.
Practice
The population density of the island is very ______, with only a few families living there.
Choose one answer.
A small number of people in a large area means low population density. 'High' would mean many people, and 'dense' and 'crowded' are not used with 'population density' in this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “population density”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.