population density

American  

[pop-yuh-ley-shuhn den-si-tee] / ˌpɒp yəˈleɪ ʃən ˌdɛn sɪ ti /

noun

population densities plural

1. the number of people, or members of a particular plant or animal species, living in a specified unit of area: a measure of how crowded or spread out inhabitants are.

   At the time of this research, the city had a population density of 537 persons per square mile.

   Our free-range chickens are raised without antibiotics and in low population densities, with plenty of room to roam around.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• population densities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of population density

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

“When you increase the population density around these types of facilities, you are increasing the hazard that if something goes mechanically wrong, more people are going to be at risk,” Shonkoff said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026

Cities tended to have higher population density, which could increase the spread of diseases such as leprosy and tuberculosis.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026

The country’s east is heavily urbanized, with a population density about 50 times that of Arctic Scandinavia and Finland, where every square mile houses on average five people.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

The city's population density is more than 7,100 people per square kilometre of land, on par with packed metropolises like Tokyo.

From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025

Anuta’s population density exceeded that of modern Holland and even rivaled that of Bangladesh.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• anthropology