Population distribution in Southeast Asia
Population distribution in Southeast Asia is also uneven. Some areas are densely populated while others are sparsely populated. This distribution is shaped by physical and human factors.
Key idea
Physical factors include relief, climate, soil and water; human factors include economic activity, transport and development.
Dense and sparse areas
Densely populated areas are fertile lowland plains and river deltas, such as the Mekong Delta and the island of Java in Indonesia. The fertile volcanic soil of Java supports farming and attracts many people. The hot and wet equatorial climate all year round also encourages farming.
Sparsely populated areas are mountainous regions and thick rainforests, because the land is steep, cool and hard to work. Indonesia is the most populous country in Southeast Asia.
Example
The Mekong Delta is densely populated because its soil is fertile and suitable for growing rice.
Human factors are just as important. Cities that offer many jobs, good transport and services attract people, so busy ports and industrial cities such as Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore are very densely populated. People move from villages to these cities to look for work, which raises the density there while some rural areas lose people.
Very dry, very cold or disease-prone places tend to be avoided. In Southeast Asia few areas are truly dry, so the biggest natural limits to settlement are steep mountains and thick, hard-to-clear rainforest rather than desert.
Remember
Fertile, flat land with a suitable climate attracts people; steep, thickly forested land pushes people away.