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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Etymology

Origin of population density

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

“Southern California has a high population density with a high electricity demand, which is projected to continue growing substantially,” said Patricia Hidalgo-Gonzalez, director of the Renewable Energy and Advanced Mathematics lab at UC San Diego.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

The researchers suggest that Fiji's higher contamination levels may be linked to greater population density, extensive coastal development, and less effective waste management systems compared with neighboring islands.

From Science Daily • Feb. 3, 2026

Economic research has shown that an expanding population produces greater consumer demand, increases the supply of labor, and can generate innovation through greater population density.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 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

This is a long-debated chicken-or-egg problem: did a rise in human population density force people to turn to food production, or did food production permit a rise in human population density?

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

Related Words

• anthropology