You are on page 1of 5

UNIT 6 THE POPULATION OF SPAIN AND EUROPE

Definition.- Population is the number of inhabitants that live in a place.


The total population of Spain is about 47 million people registered in the census.

Birth rate and death rate


The population of an area can change depending on:
The birth rate: It is the number of babies born in a place in one year.
The death rate: It is the number of people who die in a place in one year.
The natural growth: It is the difference between both.

Migration
Migration refers to people who move from one country to another.
Migration influences the population of a place.
Emigrants are people who leave one place to live in another country.
Immigrants are people who come to live in a new country.
Migration rate is the difference between both.

Reasons people migrate are Employment


Education
Better living conditions
War and natural disasters in their country
Life expentacy
Its the number of years that a person is expected to live.
In Spain, life expectancy has increased because advances in medicine
improving in living conditions
improving in working conditions

Population and employment

The population is divided into two groups:


Active population includes all adults who are able to work.
Employed . People who have a job.
Unemployed. People who dont have a job and looking for work.

Inactive population includes different gropus:


- Children under 16 (people who arent of legal working age)
- People who are retired
- Students
- People who dont want to work
- Homemakers or disabled people who cant work (are too ill to work)
Population density

Population density is the relation between the people who live in a place and the size of that area.

Population density tells us if a place has a large population or a small population. Its the
inhabitants per square Kilometre.
Population density= number of people
surface area
If lots of people live in a small area it is densely populated.
If the same number of people live in a large area it is sparsely populated.

Densely populated areas of spain

In Spain, the population is denser along the coastline and in the islands.
In each province the population is denser in the cities: Madrid (3 million) Barcelona (1,5 m)
Today, 80 out of 100 Spaniards live in cities

Least populated areas

The inland areas of Spain have the lowest population densities.

Most of the provinces of Castile and Leon, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura and Aragon are
sparsely populated (30 inhabitants/Km).

The most densely populated inland provinces are Zaragoza, Valladolid, Rioja, Navarra and Madrid.
Characteristics of the population

Europe is highly populated continent with more than 700 million inhabitants.

Europe has an ageing population because of:

Low birth rate: only 10 babies for 1,000 inhabitants.

High life expectancy: about 78 years.

So, the population of Europe is gradually increasing.

Immigration in Europe

Europe is made up of 49 independent countries.


Thousands of immigrants come to Europe (mainly from Africa, Asia and Switzerland).
The effects of immigration are:

Increase in population

Increase in the active population

Multiculturalism
Population distribution in Europe

Most of the population is urban: 7 out of 10 Europeans live in cities.

The average population density in Europe is about 70 inhabitants/km.

The population of Europe is unevenly distributed:

Areas with high population density: _____________________________________________

Areas with low population density:_______________________________________________

You might also like