Indicator 30: Population and Land Area
A country's population and land area influence both the organizational structure and the infrastructure of its education system. Countries with large populations have large numbers of school-age children and face a greater demand for educational services. Countries with large areas face greater challenges in providing educational services, since the sources must spread them over a wider geographical domain. High population densities may make it more efficient to support a wider range of specialized education and training opportunities. Although these factors influence the degree to which an education system is centralized and its ability to provide a wide range of services, they only become critical when population, area, or density is either extremely large or extremely small. Otherwise, factors such as culture, history, and economics have a stronger influence on the structure of an education system.
- With a population of over 252 million people in 1991, the United States was by far the most populous of the countries presented. Its population was over twice as large as that of Japan, the country with the next largest population.
- Canada, Australia, and the United States were by far the largest countries. With all others smaller than 300,000 square miles, these three countries were each about 3 million square miles or larger.
- Related to its large size, the United States also has a relatively low population density. The other G-7 countries, with the exception of Canada, were between nearly 4 and over 11 times more densely populated than the United States.
Table 30: Population, area, and population density, by country: 1991
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Population density Total population Area (persons per Country (thousands) (square miles) square mile) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- G-7 Canada 26,835 3,560,219 8 France 56,596 210,668 269 Germany 79,548 135,236 588 Italy 57,772 113,521 509 Japan 124,017 152,411 814 United Kingdom 57,515 93,278 617 United States 252,502 3,539,227 71 Other Australia 17,288 2,941,285 6 Austria 7,666 31,942 240 Belgium 9,922 11,672 850 Czechoslovakia 15,725 48,440 325 Denmark 5,133 16,359 314 Finland 4,991 117,942 42 Hungary 10,558 35,653 296 Ireland 3,489 26,598 131 Luxembourg 388 998 389 Netherlands 15,022 13,104 1,146 New Zealand 3,309 103,734 32 Norway 4,273 118,865 36 Portugal 10,388 35,382 294 Spain 39,385 192,819 204 Sweden 8,564 158,927 54 Switzerland 6,784 15,355 442 Turkey 58,581 297,591 197 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1992, table 1359.
Figure 30a: Land area, by G-7 country: 1991
SOURCE: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1992, Table 1359
Figure 30b: Population, by G-7 country:2 1991
1/ In thousands of square miles.
2/ In thousands.
SOURCE: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1992, Table 1359.
[Contextual Factors]
[Indicator 31]