What are some factors that contribute to a country's total population?

Question

Hills, mountains, rivers, food, climate, religion, etc?

Does area matter? Look at how large Russia is, yet we have twice as many people.

Answer 1

Religion. Many religions engage in a contest with other religions to see which one can out-breed the others, much to the detriment of the planet. Average Muslim woman has six children and we all know what the Catholic church demands of it's sheeple.

Answer 2

Land area seems to have little effect on population. Look at Asia - tons of people in many smaller countries (Bangladesh, Vietnam, etc...). In China about 90% of the population lives on less than 10% of the land... Canada and Russia are the two biggest countries in the world, but their populations don't even break the top 5.

Factors affecting population:

Religion/Culture - Muslim and Catholic nations seem to have higher birth rates, as do places (like African countries) where young adults are expected to care for their elders.

Geography - Mountainous regions will have have less people living there simply because it's harder to get around, and discourages trade and mobility. Places with large rivers or an important shipping feature (San Francisco Bay for example) are important trade areas and will generally have a higher population. Desert areas generally have lower populations because of the limited supply of water/resources.

Climate - Warmer areas usually have higher populations while colder areas generally have lower populations (eg - Russia and Canada have low population density, while Indonesia and India have high population density).

Answer 3

1) quantity of sun radiation (north is low populated)
2) rivers, sea (trading, agriculture assists high population)
3) Moslem contries are highly-populated but they have weak science and hi-tech and they all are in the south.
Christian countries are lower populated but they have high science and technology and they are situated both in north and in south.

Answer 4

Birth control availability and education, disease, health care, socioeconomic status, family relations, fertility, exposure to radiation, etc.

Answer 5

I think it has more to do with whether there's something good on tv

Answer 6

sexual activity is number one