10.2 Global population density of 2000

Population density is the number of people living in a certain area. Generally places with higher population densities are putting much larger stresses on their surrounding environment for resources and waste disposal than areas of low population density.

Because the developled nations of the world are beginning to see their populations level off, their population densities aren't expected to change much in the future (though their densities could continue to grow with increasing immigration). In the deveoping world, where population growth is expected to continue changing exponentially, population densities will increase rapidly - adding to the environmental and societal pressures mounting on these nations.