Northern hemisphere: Here’s why it is home to 90% of the world population
Do you know that 90% of the world’s population lives in the northern hemisphere? So, if the world has an estimated 7.3 billion people, 6.5 billion of them are living in just 50% of the Earth’s area. How unfair! But why is that so? That is because most big continents lie in the north of the equator. The southern part of the equator consists mainly of Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, South America and minor parts of some continents surrounded to a large extent by water.
Pick up a globe and see for yourself. Look for the equator and watch the northern part and then the southern part. You will notice that all of North America, entire Europe, two-thirds of Asia and a large part of Africa, all lie in the north of equator.
The landmass of northern hemisphere
As already mentioned, the northern hemisphere has much more land than the southern part. These landmasses have fertile soil, adequate minerals, ores, mines, natural vegetation and many more things which are required for large-scale agriculture and for civilisations to inhabit a place and make a living. The land is also well-connected, encouraging commercial activities. Also, most of the land in the northern hemisphere is in temperate regions making it possible for the human population to survive comfortably.
What is there in the southern hemisphere?
In comparison, the southern hemisphere has fewer landmasses and more water. The South Pacific, South Atlantic, Indian Ocean and various seas such as the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand and the Weddell Sea near Antarctica make up over 80 per cent of the southern hemisphere.
The land comprises only 19 to 20 per cent. The continents making up the southern hemisphere include all of Antarctica, around one-third of Africa, most of South America, and nearly all of Australia.
Antarctica is the largest landmass in the southern hemisphere. However, it is also the world’s largest cold desert and therefore, the extremely harsh climate makes it difficult for any permanent settlements there. Resultantly, the southern hemisphere is home to only around 10–12% of the total global population, primarily the people who stay in South America, Australia and a minor part of Africa.
Southern hemisphere: Rich in biodiversity
However, the southern hemisphere is incredibly biodiverse as the majority of the world's tropical rainforests are in this region. For example, the Amazon Rainforest is almost entirely in the southern hemisphere as are biodiverse places such as Madagascar and New Zealand. Antarctica also has a large variety of species adapted to its harsh climates such as emperor penguins, seals, whales and various types of plants and algae.