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Synonyms

population density

American

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

noun

plural

population densities

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.

Etymology

Origin of population density

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

The fires are burning in a forest area of Iwate Prefecture, which is Japan's second largest prefecture and has the country's second-lowest population density.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2025

Foragers today live mainly in isolated and inhospitable areas such as the Arctic or the Kalahari, where population density is very low and opportunities to fight other people are limited.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023