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.

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

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

Retained firefighters - predominantly based in rural areas with a lower population density than bigger cities - are on-call emergency responders who live near their local fire station and jump in an appliance when needed.

From BBC

Census figures from 2021 show that population density in the area around Clonavon Terrace was approximately 51 times the Northern Ireland average, and four times the average for Ballymena as a whole.

From BBC

The team also identified hotspots in areas with higher population density, greater homelessness and more overcrowding.

From BBC

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