Monthly Archives: May 2013

Asia Population 2013

Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent with a population of 4.3 billion people. Located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres, Asia covers 8.7% of the Earth’s total surface area and comprises 30% of its land area. With approximately 4.3 billion people, it makes up 60% of the world’s current human population.

Asia’s growth rate is very high for the modern era and has quadrupled during the last 100 years. Asia’s wealth of natural resources, ecological variability, and biological diversity put it in a great position to support such a high growth rate. Asia’s population growth and quickly growing economic development efforts are threatening the region’s rich and limited resources through their expansion and intensification of agriculture,  uncontrolled growth of industrialization, destruction of natural habitats, and urban sprawl.

Asian populations will continue to grow for many decades to come which will lead to increasing pressure on the region’s natural resources. Based on historical growth rates and national calculations, it is estimated that between 2000 and 2050 the national populations are expected to grow in every country of East, Southeast, and South and Central Asia except for Japan and Kazakhstan. Populations will double or nearly double in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Laos. Growth rates will also be particularly high in India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Much of the population growth projected for the next few decades will occur in countries that are least capable of coping with additional stress on land, water, and other natural resources. According to a recent studies, countries where population is projected to grow fastest have some of the lowest income levels in the world. These countries already rank high in terms of environmental stress.

Asia Borders

Asia’s borders define four-fifths of the eastern side of Eurasia. It is located to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas. It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean.

Asia Economy

Asia has the second largest nominal GDP of all continents, after Europe, but the largest when measured in purchasing power parity. As of 2011, the largest economies in Asia are China, Japan, India, South Korea and Indonesia. Based on Global Office Locations 2011, Asia dominated the office locations with 4 of top 5 were in Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai. Around 68 percent of international firms have offices in Hong Kong.

Asia Air Pollution

Asian cities are among the most polluted in the world. Of the 15 largest cities on the planet with the worst air pollution 12 are in Asia. Suspended particulate levels in Delhi, Beijing, Karachi, and Jakarta are many times higher than recommended by the World Health Organization. In the countryside, nitrates from animal waste and chemical fertilizers pollute the soil and water, and in the cities, the air is contaminated with lead from vehicle exhaust. In India’s largest cities, Mumbai and Delhi, about one-half of children under age 3 show signs of harmful exposure to lead. Such elevated levels of lead in the blood can be harmful to the developing brain and central nervous system of young children and can cause damage to other body organs. In the poorest countries of Asia, indoor air pollution may pose an even greater hazard for human health. Cooking and heating with wood, crop residues, animal dung, and low-quality coal produce smoke that contains dangerous particles and gases. When fuels such as these are burned indoors, using inefficient stoves and poor ventilation, they can cause tuberculosis, other serious respiratory diseases, and blindness. In fact, indoor air pollution from cooking and heating with unsafe fuels has been designated by the World Bank as one of the four most critical environmental problems in developing countries.

Asian Elephants

The Asian elephant is one of two species of elephants alive today. They vary greatly in size between the four subspecies, although all are smaller than the large African elephant. Throughout their range, Asian elephants experience an array of temperatures, although their habitats are found in tropical areas near the equator.

The Asian elephant can live in a wide variety of habitats, including jungle and mountain forests, but they tend to prefer forest edges bordered by grasslands and short woody plants. Due to conflicts with humans, these elephants have progressively moved into more remote areas where human interaction and conflict is at a minimum. The forested blocks can be moist, lowland evergreen forests to the much drier forests found at elevations up to 10,000 feet.

Top 10 Asian Countries by Population

Other Asia Resources

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Australia Population 2013

With births outnumbering deaths two to one and a 14% increase in migration, Australia’s population is now growing by more than 1,000 people per day. National census and calculation estimates predict that there is a birth in Australia every minute and 44 seconds. Data shows that a new immigrant arrives every two minutes and 19 seconds and a there is a mortality rate of one death every three minutes and 32 seconds. Using these factors experts calculate the Australian Population to be 23 million and the Continental Region’s population to be 36 million as of April 2013.

The total population in Australia of 23 million people in 2013 has grown from the year 1960 where the population was 10.3 million. This 122 percent change during the last 50 years has lead to current population growth and economic prosperity. The population of Australia represents less than 1 percent of the world’s total population. With a current population of 23 million people, approximately one person in every 300 people on the planet lives on the continent of Australia.

Australia The Continent And Country

Australia is a continent comprising mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, Seram, possibly Timor, and neighboring islands. The continent is sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul, Australinea or Meganesia, to distinguish it from the Australian mainland. It is the smallest of the seven traditional continents in the English conception. New Zealand is not part of the continent of Australia, but of the separate, submerged continent of Zealandia. Zealandia and Australia are both part of the wider regions known as Australasia and Oceania.

Australia is also a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands and is officially called the Commonwealth of Australia. It is the world’s sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.

Australia Population Growth

Currently 27% of Australia’s population is overseas-born which over a quarter of the total population. This proportion is considerably higher than many of the much more recognized nations that are popular for immigrants. The US is currently at 13% and Canada is at 20%. Immigration added 228 thousand people to Australia’s population in 2012 and contributed to 60% of the Australian population growth.

Australia Land Mass

With a total land area of 8,560,000 square kilometres (3,310,000 sq mi), the Australian continent is the smallest and lowest-lying human-inhabited continent on Earth. The continental shelf connecting the islands, half of which is less than 50 metres (160 ft) deep, covers some 2,500,000 square kilometres (970,000 sq mi), including the Sahul Shelf and Bass Strait. Since the country of Australia includes mostly a single landmass which comprises most of the continent, Australia is sometimes informally referred to as an “island” continent surrounded by oceans.

Australian Demographics

The population of Australia is estimated to be 23,000,000. Australia is the 52nd most populous country in the world. Its population is concentrated mainly in urban areas and is expected to exceed 28 million by 2030. Australia’s population has grown from an estimated population of about 350,000 at the time of British settlement in 1788 due to numerous waves of immigration. The European component of the population is declining as a percentage due to immigration from various countries. Australia has scarcely more than two persons per square kilometre of total land area. With 89% of its population living in urban areas, Australia is one of the world’s most urbanised countries. The life expectancy of Australians is also among the highest in the world.

Australian Wildlife

Australia’s unique animals are one of the many reasons people visit Australia. Australia has more than 378 mammal species, 828 bird species, 4000 fish species, 300 species of lizards, 140 snake species, two crocodile species and around 50 types of marine mammal. More than 80 per cent of the plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia and are found no-where else. Some of Australia’s best-known animals are the kangaroo, koala, echidna, dingo, platypus, wallaby and wombat. Australia’s native animals can often be difficult to spot in the wild, but you are guaranteed to see them in the world-class zoos and wildlife parks across Australia’s major cities and regional areas.

Australian Climate

The climate of Australia varies widely due to its large geographical size. The largest part of Australia is covered in desert or semi-arid land. Only the south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern part of the country has a tropical climate, varied between tropical rain forests, grasslands, part desert.

Temperatures in Australia have followed an increasing trend since the 1900s. Overnight minimum temperatures have warmed more rapidly than daytime maximum temperatures in recent years. The warming has been largely attributed to the increased greenhouse effect. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, 80% of the land have a rainfall less than 600 mm (24 in) per year and 50% have even less than 300 mm (12 in). Australia has an annual average rainfall of 419 mm (16 in).

Australia’s Largest City

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. It is on Australia’s south-east coast, on the Tasman Sea. The greater metropolitan area has an approximate population of 4.6 million people. Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders, comprising a cosmopolitan and international population. There are many fine heritage sites in Sydney. Vistiors can begin their journey at the World Heritage-listed Hyde Park Barracks on Macquarie Street before heading to attractions such as the Museum of Sydney, The Rocks precinct and Vaucluse House. If you enjoy contemporary or classical art, cutting-edge installations or beautifully-crafted Aboriginal art, you’ll find an art gallery to suit your style in Sydney. Sydney has an almost endless variety of attractions to entertain visitors of all ages. Come face-to-face with Australia’s diverse wildlife, go behind-the-scenes at an art gallery, see a performance at the Sydney Opera House, immerse yourself at a museum or visit a World Heritage-listed convict heritage site in the heart of the city.

Other Australia Resources

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Europe Population 2013

Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 733 million or about 11% of the world’s population.

Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Europe is a peninsula that makes up the western fifth of the Eurasian landmass. Its maritime borders are made up of the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas to the south. The southern regions are more mountainous, while moving north the terrain descends from the high Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. This extended lowland is known as the Great European Plain, and at its heart lies the North German Plain. An arc of uplands also exists along the north-western seaboard, which begins in the western parts of the islands of Britain and Ireland, and then continues along the mountainous, fjord-cut spine of Norway.

Europe Land and Mass

Europe is the world’s second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth’s surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of the 50 European countries, Russia is by far the largest by both area and population, taking up 40% of the continent and Vatican City is the smallest.

European Population Growth

Europe’s population growth rate is approximated 0.212%. The average annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus or deficit of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative. The growth rate is a factor in determining how great a burden would be imposed on a country by the changing needs of its people for infrastructure, resources, and jobs. Rapid population growth can be seen as threatening by neighboring countries.

European Wildlife

Europe stretches from the Ural Mountains in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the south and encompasses a variety of habitats including tundra, taiga, montane forest, temperate forest, and steppe. Its wildlife includes alpine newts, European tree frogs, Eurasian lynxes, badgers, European otters, chamois, European bison, hedgehogs  and wild boars.

There are nearly fourteen thousand Brown Bears that now live in Europe in ten separate populations. Their habitat spans from the west of Spain to the east of Russia and from the north of Scandinavia to southern Romania and Bulgaria. In France the bears are critically endangered. There are not many wild bears in Central Europe and none at all on the British Isles.

Europeans still live near places where you can hear wolfs howl at night, where bears walk on forest paths and where, in the fall of summer, you can see mighty buffalo engaged in a fight. For centuries, wild nature has been pushed back into the most remote places however, despite that, modern society has managed to develop not only a new relationship to restrained nature, it has also come up with new ways to protect it.

European Climate

The climate is milder in comparison to other areas of the same latitude around the globe due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream is nicknamed “Europe’s central heating”, because it makes Europe’s climate warmer and wetter than it would otherwise be. The Gulf Stream not only carries warm water to Europe’s coast but also warms up the prevailing westerly winds that blow across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean.
Therefore the average temperature throughout the year of Naples is 16 °C (60.8 °F), while it is only 12 °C (53.6 °F) in New York City which is almost on the same latitude. Berlin, Germany; Calgary, Canada; and Irkutsk, Russia all lie on around the same latitude; January temperatures in Berlin average around 8 °C (15 °F) higher than those in Calgary, and they are almost 22 °C (40 °F) higher than average temperatures in Irkutsk.

European Currency

The official currency of the European Union is the euro used in all its documents and policies. The Stability and Growth Pact sets out the fiscal criteria to maintain for stability and economic convergence. The euro is also the most widely used currency in the EU, which is in use in 17 member states known as the Eurozone. All other member states, apart from Denmark and the United Kingdom, which have special opt-outs, have committed to changing over to the euro once they have fulfilled the requirements needed to do so. Also, Sweden can effectively opt out by choosing when or whether to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which is the preliminary step towards joining. The remaining states are committed to join the Euro through their Treaties of Accession.

Other Europe Resources

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Africa Population 2013

Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent with a population of 1.033 billion people.

The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagoes. It has 54 fully recognized sovereign states and countries, 9 territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition.

Africa Population Growth

AFRICA’S fast-growing population boom is being seen as both a blessing and a curse with some seeing it as a decisive boost for economic growth and a unique opportunity for development. The dramatic growth began in the second half of the 20th century, when the number of people on the continent almost quadrupled from 230 million to 811 million. This had reached one billion by 2010, according to the United Nations World Population Prospects. If current demographic trends persist, the population will increase to 1.4 billion in 2025 and 1.9 billion in 2050. One in every three children in the world will be born in Sub Saharan Africa.

Africa Land Mass

At about 30.2 million km² (11.7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers six percent of the Earth’s total surface area and 20.4 percent of the total land area. With 1.033 billion people. Africa’s population accounts for about 15% of the world’s human population.

Africa Climate

Africa’s climatic zones are largely controlled by the continent’s location astride the equator and its almost symmetrical extensions into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Thus, except where altitude exerts a moderating influence on temperature or precipitation, Africa may be divided into six general climatic regions. Areas near the equator and on the windward shores of SE Madagascar have a tropical rain forest climate, with heavy rain and high temperatures throughout the year. North and south of the rain forest are belts of tropical savanna climate, with high temperatures all year and a seasonal distribution of rain during the summer season. The savanna grades poleward in both hemispheres into a region of semiarid steppe and then into the arid conditions of the extensive Sahara and the Kalahari. Belts of semiarid steppe with limited winter rain occur on the poleward sides of the desert regions. At the northern and southern extremities of the continent are narrow belts of Mediterranean-type climate with subtropical temperatures and a concentration of rainfall mostly in the autumn and winter months.

History of Man in Africa

About 1.75 million years ago, early man spread throughout parts of Africa. They became aggressive hunters, lived in caves and used fire and their ability to create stone tools just to survive.

The Neanderthals arose some 200,000 years ago and inhabited regions in northern Africa and across parts of southern Europe. There is also clear evidence that they had control of fire, lived in caves, as well as open-air structures of stone and vegetation.

African Wildlife

Africa is a huge continent that’s made up of many different habitats, including sand, rock, water and grass. Each of those habitats is the perfect place for all sorts of cool creatures to live. The hippo is responsible for more human fatalities in Africa than any other large animal. Male hippos actively defend their territories which run along the banks of rivers and lakes. Females have also been known to get extremely aggressive if they sense anyone coming in between their babies, who stay in the water while she feeds on the shore. Hippos can run at speeds of over 20 miles an hour and they have enormous jaws which host up to 20 inch canines.

Africa’s Nile River

The Nile River is the longest river in the world. It rises south of the Equator and flows northward through northeastern Africa to drain into the Mediterranean Sea. It has a length of about 4,132 miles (6,650 kilometres) and drains an area estimated at 1,293,000 square miles (3,349,000 square kilometres). Its basin includes parts of Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Sudan, and the cultivated part of Egypt. Its most distant source is the Kagera River in Burundi.

Africa’s Sahara Desert

The Sahara Desert is located in the northern portion of Africa and covers over 3,500,000 square miles (9,000,000 sq km) or roughly 10% of the continent. It is bounded in the east by the Red Sea and it stretches west to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north, the Sahara Desert’s northern boundary is the Mediterranean Sea, while in the south it ends at the Sahel, an area where the desert landscape transforms into a semi-arid tropical savanna.

The Sahara covers parts of several African nations including Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia. Most of the Sahara Desert is undeveloped and features a varied topography. Most of its landscape has been shaped over time by wind and includes sand dunes, sand seas called ergs, barren stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys and salt flats. Around 25% of the desert is sand dunes, some of which reach over 500 ft (152 m) in height.

Top 5 African Countries By Population

Other Resources

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South America Population 2013

According to national estimates and statistical calculations, South America’s Population in 2013 is approximately 386,000,000. South America is a continent located in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas.

The present population of South America is the result of four centuries of mixture among these four components—American Indians, Iberians, Africans, and more recent overseas immigrants—and their descendants. The mixing process began when the first Iberians reached South America. The previous traditions and basic values and attitudes of the Iberians—coupled with other characteristics of their conquest and colonization—facilitated intermixing not only with the Indians but in general among all the various ethnic groups, although the intensity, extent, and frequency of this mixing varied both among different groups and at different times.

It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. It includes twelve sovereign states – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela – and two non-sovereign areas – French Guiana, an overseas region of France, and the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory. In addition to this, Trinidad and Tobago and the ABC islands of the Netherlands may also be considered part of South America.

Below is a map of the region that includes countries and cities of South America:

South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers (6,890,000 sq mi). Its population as of 2005 has been estimated at more than 371,090,000. South America ranks fourth in area (after Asia, Africa, and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America).

Most of the population lives near the western or eastern coasts of the continent while the interior and the far south are sparsely populated. The geography of western South America is dominated by the Andes mountains; in contrast, the eastern part contains both highland regions and large river basins such as the Amazon, Paraná and Orinoco. Most of the continent lies in the tropics.

South America Wildlife

Home to marsupials, monkeys and the world’s largest rainforest, South America is the continent with everything from glaciers to deserts. It became a continent in its own right on breaking away from Africa and Antarctica 120 million years ago. Its fauna and flora are therefore descended from organisms either on the continent then or that managed to make their way there during its isolation whose ancestors crossed the early Atlantic Ocean from Africa. Three million years ago, the Isthmus of Panama formed, uniting North and South America and allowing animals including big cats, bears, coral snakes and condors to move in.

During the first decade of the 21st century, South American governments have drifted to the political left, with socialist leaders being elected in Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. Most South American countries use free market policies, and it is taking an active path toward greater continental integration.

The continent’s demographics reflect an unusual settlement history: South America is a “hollow continent,” with most of the population concentrated around its margins. The highest population densities are found in the old Indian core areas of the Andes, the former slave areas of northeastern Brazil, and the areas of European immigration in southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The interior is relatively empty because of the decline in Indian populations, poor communications with coastal areas, and the absence of economic opportunities capable of attracting large numbers of immigrants.

To learn more about the population of South America, click here

North America Population 2013

North America’s population in 2013 is currently calculated based on national estimations at 529,000,000 people. North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea.

The first people to live in North America were Paleoindians who began to arrive during the last glacial period by crossing the Bering land bridge. They differentiated into a number of diverse cultures and communities across the continent. The largest and most advanced Pre-Columbian civilizations in North America were the Aztecs in what is now Mexico and the Mayans in Central America. European colonists began to arrive starting in the 16th and 17th centuries, wiping out large numbers of the native populations and beginning an era of European dominance.

North America Land Mass

North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), about 4.8% of the planet’s surface or about 16.5% of its land area. As of July 2008, its population was estimated at nearly 529 million people across 23 independent states, representing about 7.5% of the human population. North America is the third-largest continent in area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

North America Languages

The languages of North America reflect not only that continent’s indigenous peoples, but the European colonization as well. The most widely spoken languages in North America are English, Spanish, and French.

North America is home to a large number of language families and some language isolates. In the Arctic north, the Eskimo–Aleut languages are spoken from Alaska to Greenland. This group includes the Aleut language of the Aleutian Islands, the Yupik languages of Alaska and the Russian Far East, and the Inuit languages of Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Greenland.

North America Wildlife

North America is a land of varied landscapes that stretches from the Arctic in the north to the narrow landbridge of Central America in the south. The wildlife of North America, like its habitats, is diverse and includes animals such as bison, pronghorn, brown bears, bald eagles, hummingbirds, bullfrogs, snapping turtles, rattlesnakes, cougars, and American alligators.Deer are the most common animal in North America. Rabbits are also very common in North America. The turtle is the most common reptile. The most common animal in the United States is the Tree Squirrel. Dogs are the most popular pets in North America, followed by the domestic cat.

Top 5 North American Countries By Population

Top 10 North American Cities By Population

Other Resources

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