Social SciencesFreePrintable

Population Density Map Reading

A free social sciences worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Population Density Map Reading

You are advising a team planning services in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Use the data table and the information in the questions to interpret where people live and why. Population density is measured in people per square kilometre (people/km²). The figures describe broad patterns, not every local area.

Region

Approx. population density (people/km²)

Broad physical setting

Auckland urban area

1,700

North Island coastal urban area

West Coast, South Island

Mountainous, forested, remote

Australian Capital Territory

190

Inland territory containing Canberra

Northern Territory

0.2

Large, mostly arid territory

Read the data

Use the supplied density figures and physical-setting descriptions to compare regions. The figures are approximate, not exact values for every local area.

1.A planning report says population density is the number of people living in each square kilometre. Which calculation represents that measure?

Total land area ÷ total population
Total population ÷ land area
Total population × land area
Total population + land area

2.Australia’s highest population densities are generally around major coastal cities, while its central interior is much less densely populated. Examples of major coastal cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Name two cities from this list that illustrate this pattern.

3.Compare the data for Auckland urban area and the West Coast of the South Island. How many times greater is Auckland’s approximate density?

4.True or false? The table gives the Australian Capital Territory a higher population density than the Northern Territory. Use the table values to justify your answer.

5.Complete the sentence: A population concentrated in a few places is described as .

6.Complete the sentence: A population spread thinly across a large area is described as .

7.Australia has a very sparsely populated, mostly arid interior. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the West Coast of the South Island is mountainous, forested and remote, while Auckland is a North Island coastal urban area. State one similarity and one difference in the countries’ population distribution, using this information.

8.Choose two factors that could help explain low population density in Australia’s interior and on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island. For each factor, explain how it can affect settlement.

9.A news headline says, “Australia is more crowded than New Zealand because it has a larger population.” Explain why this conclusion cannot be supported by population totals alone. Identify the extra information needed for a fair comparison.

10.The government has funding for one new regional service hub. Should it be placed in the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory? Use the table’s density figures and physical-setting descriptions to recommend a location. Give one benefit of your choice and one limitation or trade-off.