REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, DENSITY AND GROWTH IN PUNJAB-PAKISTAN: A GEOSPATIAL APPROACH

Abstract

The global population is unevenly distributed and growing at a pace, that is bringing disparities among resources and areas. The distribution and density are two important aspects of population studies and intrigue the attention of geographers, as well as other social scientists across the globe. Population distribution and density are influenced by various geographical, socio-economic, and cultural factors. Therefore, distribution and density cannot alone be determined by a single factor but rather by a multitude of many factors. The present research is focused on various methods to gauge the distribution and density of the population of Punjab for the Census years 1998,2017 and 2023 on the district level. The use of Geographical Information System (GIS) and CANVA have facilitated the demographic data and analysis which reveals an overall increase in the population and density of almost all the districts during the under-study period;1998,2013 and 2023. The GIS techniques helped to extract the regional disparities, trends, and patterns of population distribution and density succinctly