If you want to view world population clusters in a new way, check out these 3D-rendered maps that use EU’s population density data and the mapping tool Aerialod by Alasdair Rae. According to an article written by Visual Capitalist’s Omri Wallach, “It can be difficult to comprehend the true sizes of megacities, or the global spread of nearly 7.8 billion people, but this series of population density maps makes the picture abundantly clear.” The maps help in understanding each region and country’s demographic story. Here are a few examples (directly quoted):
- Most people are familiar with the large density centers around Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, but the concentration in central China is surprising. The cities of Chengdu and Chonqing, in the Sichuan Basin, are part of a massive population center. Interestingly, more than 93% of China’s population lives in the Eastern half of the country. It’s a similar story in neighboring South Korea and Taiwan, where the population is clustered along the west coasts.
- The U.S. also has large population clusters along the coasts, but far more sprawl compared to its Asian counterparts. Though the Boston-Washington corridor is home to over 50 million residents, major centers spread out the population across the South and the Midwest.
- [On geographic constraints] take Indonesia, the fourth largest country by population. Despite spanning across many islands, more than half of the country’s 269 million inhabitants are clustered on the single island of Java. The metros of Jakarta and Surabaya have experienced massive growth, but spreading that growth across oceans to entirely new islands (covered by rainforests) is a tall order.
Image: Alasdair Rae, Population Density Southeast Asia, Annoted by Visual Capitalist, Software, Aerilod
