die
Bevölkerungsdichte
🌍 What does Bevölkerungsdichte mean?
Die Bevölkerungsdichte is a metric indicating how many inhabitants live on average within a specific unit of area (usually one square kilometer, ein Quadratkilometer). It's an important indicator in geography, sociology, and urban planning to describe the distribution of population in an area.
Formula: Bevölkerungsdichte = Number of inhabitants / Area (in km²)
The word only takes the article die because it is a feminine noun (derived from 'die Dichte' - the density). There are no other meanings associated with different articles.
Article rules for der, die, and das
-e/-ee → almost always feminine.
There are many -e nouns, many of which are feminine, but there are also some important exceptions.
📚 Grammar in Detail: die Bevölkerungsdichte
The noun „Bevölkerungsdichte“ is feminine. Here are the declension tables:
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative (Subject) | die | Bevölkerungsdichte |
| Genitive (Possessive) | der | Bevölkerungsdichte |
| Dative (Indirect Object) | der | Bevölkerungsdichte |
| Accusative (Direct Object) | die | Bevölkerungsdichte |
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Bevölkerungsdichten |
| Genitive | der | Bevölkerungsdichten |
| Dative | den | Bevölkerungsdichten |
| Accusative | die | Bevölkerungsdichten |
Example Sentences
- Monaco hat eine extrem hohe Bevölkerungsdichte. (Monaco has an extremely high population density.)
- Die Bevölkerungsdichte Deutschlands liegt bei etwa 233 Einwohnern pro Quadratkilometer. (Germany's population density is about 233 inhabitants per square kilometer.)
- Forscher analysieren die Veränderungen der Bevölkerungsdichten in verschiedenen Regionen. (Researchers analyze the changes in population densities in different regions.)
🗣️ How is Bevölkerungsdichte used?
The term „Bevölkerungsdichte“ is mainly used in formal and scientific contexts:
- Geography & Demography: To describe and compare population distribution in countries (Länder), regions (Regionen), or cities (Städte).
- Urban Planning (Stadtplanung): When planning infrastructure, housing, and services.
- Sociology & Ecology: To analyze social structures, environmental impact, or resource consumption in relation to the number of people per area.
- Statistics (Statistik): As an important statistical indicator in reports and analyses.
In everyday conversation (im Alltag), people are less likely to use „Bevölkerungsdichte“. Instead, they might say an area is „dicht besiedelt“ (densely populated), „voll“ (crowded), „menschenleer“ (deserted), or „weitläufig“ (spacious).
💡 Mnemonics
For the article: Think of 'die Dichte' (the density). Many German nouns ending in '-heit', '-keit', '-schaft', '-ung', '-ei', and also '-e' following another noun (like Dichte after Bevölkerung) are feminine. So, it's die Bevölkerungsdichte.
For the meaning: Imagine a map (eine Karte) with lots of little figures (Bevölkerung - population) standing very densely packed together ('dicht'). That represents high Bevölkerungsdichte.
🔄 Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms (Similar Meaning)
- Siedlungsdichte: Settlement density - Often used synonymously, refers more specifically to built-up areas.
- Einwohnerdichte: Inhabitant density - An exact synonym.
- Wohndichte: Residential density - Refers specifically to density in residential areas.
Antonyms (Opposites - often indirect)
- Geringe Bevölkerungsdichte / Dünne Besiedlung: Low population density / Sparse settlement - The opposite of high density.
- Entvölkerung: Depopulation - The process of population decline in an area.
- Menschenleere: Emptiness / Desertedness - Extreme case of very low density.
⚠️ Watch out! Don't confuse with:
- Bevölkerungszahl: Population size/number - The absolute number of inhabitants, not the density per area.
- Bevölkerungswachstum/-rückgang: Population growth/decline - The change in population size over time, not its spatial distribution.
😂 A little Joke
Warum ist die Bevölkerungsdichte in der Wüste so gering?
Weil Kamele so viel Platz brauchen, um anzugeben! 😉
(Why is the population density in the desert so low? Because camels need so much space to show off!)
📜 Poem about Density
Stadt an Stadt, Mensch an Mensch,
Die Zahl pro Fläche, welch ein immens
Gewicht und Maß, genannt die Dichte,
Mal eng, mal weit, erzählt Geschichte.
Die Bevölkerungsdichte zeigt,
Wo Leben pulst, wo Stille schweigt.
(City by city, person by person,
The number per area, what an immense
Weight and measure, called the density,
Sometimes close, sometimes wide, tells history.
The population density shows,
Where life pulses, where silence grows.)
❓ Riddle
Ich messe, wie voll ein Land, eine Stadt,
Wie viele Menschen sie pro Fläche hat.
Mal bin ich hoch, mal niedrig sehr,
Sag Geografen immer mehr.
Ich trage 'die' als Artikel vor mir,
Was bin ich für ein Begriff hier?
(I measure how full a country, a city is,
How many people it has per area.
Sometimes I am high, sometimes very low,
I always tell geographers more.
I carry 'die' as the article before me,
What term am I here?)
Solution: die Bevölkerungsdichte (population density)
🧩 Further Details
Word Composition
The word is a compound noun (ein Kompositum), composed of:
- die Bevölkerung: The population - The total inhabitants of an area.
- die Dichte: The density - A measure of the concentration of something per unit of space or area.
Trivia
- The average world population density is about 60 inhabitants per km².
- Areas with extremely high population density are often city-states (e.g., Monaco, Singapore) or metropolitan areas (e.g., Tokyo Metropolitan Area).
- Areas with extremely low population density include deserts, high mountains, or arctic regions (e.g., Greenland, Mongolia).
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Bevölkerungsdichte?
The correct article for Bevölkerungsdichte is die. The word is feminine and describes the number of inhabitants per unit of area (population density).