Lesson video

Hi, geographers, my name's Ms. Hoggett, and I'm really excited you're here to learn some geography with me today.

I'm sure if you try your best, you're going to be absolutely fantastic.

Don't worry too much if you haven't studied this topic before.

I'm here to help you every step of the way.

Our title for today's lesson is "Population of the Middle East," and this sits within the unit "The Middle East: How Have Natural Resources Changed the Middle East?" Our learning outcome for today is that, "I can describe population patterns in the Middle East." To help us through today's lesson, there's a number of keywords that are going to be really useful to us, population density, distribution, migration, and natural increase.

Population density is the number of people living in a defined area, e.

g.

, 300 people per kilometre squared.

Distribution is the way something is spread out.

Migration is moving from one place to another with the intention of staying there.

And natural increase is when birth rates are higher than death rates.

So population density, distribution, migration, and natural increase are really going to help us in today's lesson.

Today's lesson is split into two learning cycles, population distribution in the Middle East and the impact of population growth on resources.

We're going to start with our first learning cycle now, population distribution in the Middle East.

It's estimated that over 507,924,000 people live in the Middle East and Egypt as of June 2025.

That's more than the entire population of the whole European Union, so we know it's a huge number of people.

As we can see in this image of Istanbul in Türkiye, the large population is spread all across the region, and it has rich history, diverse cultures, and really important cities.

Now the population in the Middle East and North Africa has grown rapidly over time.

This line graph here helps us visualise how much the population has changed from 1960 to the present day.

In 1960, the region's population was much smaller, but over the decades, it's increased dramatically.

This means there are now four times as many people living in the region compared to 1960, so there's been huge growth.

So let's check your understanding so far.

Approximately how many people live in the Middle East in 2025? Is it A, over 5 million, B, over 50 million, C, over 500 million, or D, over 5 billion? Pause the video and have a go at answering this question.

Well done if you said C, over 500 million.

That's absolutely spot on.

Now, population distribution refers to the way that people are spread out over an area, and we can explore this in terms of population density, which is the number of people living in a defined area.

This choropleth map shows population density around the world.

The darker the colour, the more people live in that place.

So what patterns do you notice looking at this map? Pause the video and have a think about what you can see.

Izzy says, "Population distribution around the world is uneven," and Izzy's absolutely spot on.

So what we can see on this choropleth map is a scale showing us that the darker the colour, the higher the value, so the lighter yellow colours means there's less people per square kilometres, and the darker red colours show that there's more than 1,000 people per square kilometre.

We can see that places such as India or London have much darker red shades, so therefore we know that they have more people living in them.

Now when they have more people living in them, we would refer to them as densely populated.

But where we have our lightest yellow colours, we would refer to those as sparsely populated.

So we could suggest that places like India are densely populated because they have over 201 people living per square kilometre.

If we focus in on the Middle East, we can see that the Middle East also has an uneven population distribution.

Some places have a population density of 101 to 1,000 people per kilometre squared, but on the other hand, some places have a population density of less than 10 people per kilometre squared.

So we can see that we have some densely populated and some sparsely populated places within the Middle East.

So, true or false? The population is spread evenly across the Middle East.

Pause the video and have a go at answering that question.

Well done if you said false.

We know that the Middle East has an uneven population distribution because some places are sparsely populated, and some places are densely populated.

Well done, geographers.

Now, this map here shows population density in the Middle East in a bit more detail.

If we take a look at the key, we can see the areas that are yellow have a low population density, but areas that are green or into even darker blue we can see have a high population density.

So looking at this map, one point that we can see is that some coastlines have a high population density.

There is also a high population density along the River Nile.

We can see along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers there is a high population density, but in hot, dry deserts, the population density is low.

Now, this feeds into what we've learned previously about having high population densities along water sources because it provides those natural resources for people.

So this could start to explain some of those patterns that we can see.

Now, a variety of physical and human factors can affect population distribution of a country or place.

It's not just whether they're near to water sources.

So these different physical and human factors can include things like climate, terrain, natural resources, and soil fertility, but also things like infrastructure, so buildings and roads, job opportunities, industry, and services.

So all of these factors are going to affect where people choose to live.

If the climate is too hot and too dry, you're probably not going to find too many people there.

But on the other hand, if a place has lots of job opportunities, for example, people might move there.

So there's lots of different factors that affect where people live.

Physical factors such as climate, natural resources, and soil fertility do affect population distribution.

Large parts of the Middle East have warm desert climates, and this makes it difficult for people to live, grow crops, and keep animals.

This is because these areas have dry and infertile soils, and they have fewer natural resources such as water and wood.

We can see that looking at this map.

We can see that vast areas of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, for example, Yemen have warm desert climates, and so that makes it more tricky for people to live there.

The physical geography of the Middle East also helps explain why some places are more densely populated.

We can see that comparing this topographical map to our population distribution map on the screen.

So what I'd like you to do is have a think about what similarities you can notice between these two maps of the Middle East, and I'd like you to discuss them with the person next to you.

Off you go.

Did you come up with any similarities or any differences? So both of these maps are showing the Middle East, but our map on the left-hand side is the topographical map showing us the physical features.

We can see where there are mountains.

We can also see where there are key rivers such as the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates, and on the right-hand side, we're looking at population density.

Now, on our left-hand map, we can see that there are key physical features such as our large desert in the south of Saudi Arabia.

If we can compare this to what we can see on our population density map, we can see that these same areas are light yellow, showing that few people live there.

But also in the topographical map, we can see there are mountainous areas like in parts of Türkiye and Iran.

And if we compare that to our population density map, we can again see that fewer people are living in the high mountain regions, but more people are living along the coastlines and river valleys.

So this tells us that the physical geography hugely influences where people live across the Middle East.

Now, people in the Middle East, as we've mentioned, mostly live near water sources such as rivers and coasts.

This is because land in these places is usually flatter.

This really helps with things like trade and transportation, urbanisation, hydration, sanitation, agriculture, and cooking.

All of these things are benefits of being near a water source.

People can trade really freely, so they can bring goods in and move goods out.

They can stay hydrated, so they're able to look after their health, as well as improving sanitation 'cause they're able to keep themselves clean.

It also means they can grow stuff through agriculture and then cook the food that they've produced.

So living near a water source is really valuable.

So we're going to practise what we've learned so far.

And for this practise task, I would like you to use the maps you can see on the screen to describe and explain the population distribution in the Middle East.

Good luck, geographers.

I'm sure you're going to do absolutely fantastically.

Well done for giving that a really good go.

Let's check your answer.

So you might have said something similar to, "Population in the Middle East is not spread out evenly.

Most people live near water sources such as rivers and coastlines because the region is very dry and has large deserts.

For example, a lot of people live along the River Nile in Egypt, where the land is fertile and good for farming.

In Iraq, many people live near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which also provide water for crops and drinking.

Coastal countries like Lebanon, Israel, and parts of Türkiye also have higher population densities, especially near the sea.

Places like the Rub' al Khali Desert in Saudi Arabia and Oman and mountain areas in Iran and Afghanistan have very few people because it's hard to survive in dry or steep places.

This shows that, in the Middle East, water is a key reason why people choose to live in certain places, and most people live where it's easiest to find water, grow food, and build homes." Well done if you picked out some of those themes.

That's absolutely spot on.

Whilst it's not just water that draws people to a place in the Middle East, we know that it's a big influence in where people live.

Well done, geographers.

We've reached the end of learning cycle one, and we're ready to move swiftly on to learning cycle two.

Since the 1950s, the population in all countries across the Middle East and North Africa has increased, but some have grown much faster than others.

Countries like Egypt, Iran, and Türkiye have seen some of the fastest population growth in the region.

The graph shows us that their populations have more than tripled in the last 70 years, and there could be lots of different reasons for this.

There are two main reasons why populations, particularly those in the Middle East, can grow really quickly.

They are migration and natural increase.

Let's check your understanding.

What are the two main causes of population growth in the Middle East? Pause the video and have a go at this question.

Well done for giving that a go.

If you said natural increase and migration, you're absolutely spot on.

Now, natural increase is a process that happens when the birth rate in a place is higher than the death rate.

Birth rate is the number of live births per 1,000 of the population per year.

And death rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 of the population per year.

So when there's more births than deaths, the population is going to grow, and that is called natural increase.

Some of the countries in the Middle East have a really high birth rate, and we can see that on this map.

Alex says, "The birth rate in the United Kingdom is 10 live births per 1,000 of the population per year." So that gives us an understanding of a country we're familiar with and how our Middle Eastern countries compare.

So we can see that Yemen is much higher than this at 35 births per 1,000 people, whereas countries such as Egypt are a bit lower at 21 but still higher than the UK.

So we know that we have quite high birth rates in different countries across the Middle East.

Now, population can also change due to migration.

And migration is the movement of people from one place to another so that they stay there.

It's not the same as just going on a holiday.

As we can see in the images, in 2024, Saudi Arabia's population included 13.

68 million international migrants.

They were closely followed by the United Arab Emirates, who had 8.

16 million international migrants, and in the same year, Türkiye's population included 7.

01 million international migrants.

So we can see that migration is hugely affecting the population in different Middle Eastern countries.

So let's check your understanding.

What's the correct definition of a natural increase? Is it A, when birth rates are the same as death rates, B, when birth rates are lower than death rates, or C, when birth rates are higher than death rates? Pause the video and have a go at answering this question.

Well done if you said C, when birth rates are higher than death rates.

Now, when populations grow quickly, it can put pressure on different resources.

That could include things like water because there's more people looking for water to drink and water for sanitation, housing because there's more people who need accommodation, food because there's more people who need food, again, jobs because there's more people who need jobs, energy because more people means more infrastructure, which requires energy, and more land is needed to accommodate all of those people.

So we know that it's likely to cause some challenges if populations are growing too fast.

Now, one of the resources that's very heavily affected is water, as it's needed for lots of different reasons.

This could include drinking, sanitation, so keeping yourself clean, farming, and industry.

One place that's really heavily affected by this is Cairo because this is one of the largest cities in Africa, and the population here is growing really fast.

Now, Egypt relies almost entirely on the River Nile for its water, and so do 10 other African countries, as Lucas has told us there.

As the population grows, more water is used than is available, and this is called water stress.

It means that people might face water shortages, and farmers might lack the water needed to grow enough crops.

It can also really impact health, as people may not have water for sanitation.

So we know that if the population grows too quickly and the water is used quicker than it can be replaced, then the population are going to really struggle.

So what is the most accurate definition of water stress then? Is it A, when a country has frequent flooding and excess rainfall, B, when more water is used than is available, or C, when people have access to unlimited clean water supplies? Pause the video and have a go at answering that question.

Well done if you said B, when more water is used than is available.

So if a population grows really quickly and then using more water than is available in that area, we know that area may be experiencing water stress, as we just saw in Cairo.

Another example is in Yemen.

Yemen has very little rainfall and few rivers.

Most people rely on underground water sources, which we call aquifers.

However, these are being used up quicker than they can be replaced due to the population increasing.

In the really big cities there, there's a risk they might run out of water completely.

Likewise, the dry climate means that farming is difficult, and the land is dry.

With more people, the demand for food is higher, but it's really difficult to grow that food locally.

Therefore, Yemen has to import most of its food, but war and poverty have made this really tricky.

As a result, a large number of people in Yemen suffer from hunger and malnutrition because there isn't enough water, which means they can't grow their food.

They also can't import it due to war and poverty, and therefore people go without the nutrition that they need.

The country also relies on imported energy.

The increasing number of schools, hospitals, and homes means that more energy is needed in order to meet the needs of the population.

Conflict, though, alongside with that population growth, means that there can be fuel shortages, and as a result, power cuts are really, really common in the country.

So true or false? Population growth doesn't affect Yemen's resources.

Pause the video and have a go at answering this question.

Well done if you said false.

We know that population growth in Yemen has impacted water, food, energy, and housing resources across the country.

Now, there are positives that come off the back of this population growth, and Cairo shows a really good example of that because as the population has grown, the demand for clean water has increased, and therefore the government have been pushed to invest in new technology and big water projects in order to keep up with this demand.

So they've invested in things like desalination plants, which is where we turn sea water into drinking water, wastewater recycling plants, and smart technologies to reduce water waste.

So this is really positive for increasing that supply for the population, but the increased number of people also means there's a larger workforce to build and maintain that infrastructure.

So the projects they have in mind can be delivered by the people because there's more people to do those jobs.

So we're going to practise what you've learnt in this learning cycle, and Lucas says, "Population growth always leads to resource problems." And what I would like you to do is, using examples, discuss this statement in relation to the Middle East.

Pause the video so you can have a go at completing this practise task.

Well done for giving that a really good go, geographers.

Let's check your answer.

So you might have included something similar to, "Population growth often leads to resource problems because more people means more demand for things like food, water, housing, and energy.

This is especially true in large cities in the Middle East, such as Cairo, Egypt, where the population has grown rapidly in recent decades.

In Cairo, water stress is a major issue.

The city relies heavily on the River Nile for its water supply, but the river must be shared with many other countries.

As the population of Cairo increases, there is more demand for clean drinking water, sanitation, and irrigation, which puts pressure on this limited water source.

In this way, population growth clearly causes resource problems. However, population growth in Cairo has also encouraged investment and innovation.

For example, the Egyptian government is building desalination plants to turn sea water into drinkable water and expanding wastewater recycling to use in farming.

These projects help manage water stress more sustainably.

In addition, a larger population can mean more workers and more ideas, which can lead to smarter ways of using resources.

For example, Cairo has developed their technology to monitor and reduce water waste.

While population growth often causes resource problems, especially in areas with limited supplies like Cairo, it also leads to positive changes such as innovation, investment, and better planning.

So the statement is only partly true." Well done if you gave that a really good go, geographers.

I'm sure you've considered many different fantastic points, and you've done really well in today's lesson.

So we've come to the end of this lesson, and to summarise, population distribution in the Middle East is uneven.

Most people live near to water sources such as rivers and coasts.

The population across the Middle East is growing mostly due to migration and natural increase.

And lastly, population growth can have both negative and positive impacts on resources.

Well done for giving today's lesson a really good go, geographers.

You've been brilliant, and I look forward to seeing you in our next lesson.