Answer: Besides physical factors, the distribution of population is strongly influenced by economic, social, cultural, political and historical (human) factors.
Population is not evenly distributed on the earth. Human factors can attract people even to areas with unfavourable physical conditions, or keep people away from favourable ones.
- Agriculture: areas of intensive agriculture with irrigation support dense population, e.g. the Ganga plain, the Nile valley in Egypt, the Yangtze valley in China.
- Industrialisation: industries provide employment and attract people; industrial regions are densely populated, e.g. the Ruhr region of Germany, the north-eastern USA, Mumbai–Pune region.
- Urbanisation: cities offer jobs, education, health care and amenities, so large numbers of people migrate to them, e.g. Mumbai, Tokyo, New York, Shanghai.
- Mineral resources and mining: mining areas attract people even in harsh environments, e.g. gold mines of Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie in the Australian desert, the Chota Nagpur plateau, oil fields of the Middle East.
- Transport and communication: areas with good roads, railways, ports and airports attract population; settlements cluster along transport routes and at ports such as Singapore and Rotterdam.
- Social and cultural factors: places of religious or cultural importance attract people, e.g. Varanasi, Jerusalem, Mecca. Social conditions, safety and community ties also influence where people live.
- Political factors and government policies: war, political instability and persecution make people leave a region, while peace and government policies (new capitals, resettlement, industrial estates, SEZs) attract people, e.g. planned cities like Chandigarh, Brasília, Navi Mumbai.
- Historical factors: regions settled for a long time, such as old river valley civilisations, remain densely populated.
- Technology: modern technology like air-conditioning, irrigation and medicines has made it possible to live in deserts and cold areas, e.g. Las Vegas and Dubai in deserts.
Conclusion: Physical factors set the limits, but human factors decide how far people can use an area. That is why population today is increasingly concentrated in industrial and urban regions.
