Answer: Besides physical factors, economic, social, cultural and political (human) factors strongly influence where people live.
1. Economic factors
- Agriculture: fertile, irrigated areas support dense populations, e.g. the Ganga plain, Nile valley.
- Industrialisation: industrial regions offer jobs and attract people, e.g. the Great Lakes region, the Ruhr, Mumbai–Pune belt.
- Mining: mineral deposits attract population even in harsh areas, e.g. Kalgoorlie (Australia), Kimberley, Jharia.
- Urbanisation: cities offer employment, education, health and entertainment, so they are densely populated.
- Transport and communication: areas along roads, railways and ports are more populated than inaccessible areas.
2. Social and cultural factors
- Religious and cultural centres attract people, e.g. Varanasi, Mecca, Pandharpur.
- Social customs, caste or ethnic conflicts can force people to leave some areas.
- Availability of education and health facilities attracts people.
3. Political factors
- Government policies like resettlement, development of new towns (Chandigarh, Navi Mumbai) or restrictions on settlement affect distribution.
- Wars, partitions and political instability cause large-scale movement, e.g. refugees from Syria.
- Border areas with tension are often sparsely populated.
4. Technology
- Irrigation, air-conditioning and modern technology have made people settle in difficult areas such as deserts (e.g. Gulf cities).
Conclusion: Human factors can modify the effect of physical factors; that is why population is uneven, concentrated in economically developed and accessible areas.
