Population (human biology)

This article is about human biology. For biology, see Population. For other uses, see Population (disambiguation).

In human biology, a population can be defined as a set of people living in a particular area (a country, region, city, or the whole world), being increased or decreased in number over time. ^[1] In biology, one of the definitions of a population is about interbreeding individuals, ^[2] and in genetics, a definition may involve a common gene pool. ^[3] In contrast to other animals, human mating is different. ^[2] It is influenced by a number of social and cultural factors. ^[2] From this point of view, a population can be defined as "a group of individuals who are more likely to mate among themselves than among others". ^[4] A larger population can thus be considered as a number of smaller breeding populations that coexist together. ^[2] In practice however, a population is usually defined simply by a geographic area, particularly in humans. ^[2]

Population genetics studies differences between populations and inside populations. The 99.9% of the human genome remains the same across all human populations, but the other genes can be different. ^[5] Populations tend to have different phenotypic traits based on their geographical location ^[5] and so may carry varying gene pools, ^[6] but physical traits are not often used to define a population. ^[5] Aside from the population term, humans can also be grouped as races and ethnic groups. ^[7]

The scientific study of human populations in terms of numbers is demography, ^{[1] [5]} which studies population statistics (the structure, distribution, and size of a population) and population dynamics (the change of the size of a population). ^[8] But demographers understand the term "population" differently than biologists, even if there are some similarities between these interpretations: biologists study the number of individuals in a particular area and it evolves over time under varying conditions, whilst demographers count individuals by some certain criteria at a given time ^[9] in a specific region. ^{[9] [10]}

Etymology

The word population evolved from the Latin word "populus", which means "people" ^[9] and which was originally used in the context of citizens of a specific place. ^[11] Initially, population was a verbal noun describing a process or a state (such as an increase of inhabitants), but this definition later became archaic. ^[9] The first known usage of the term dates back to 1500s. ^[12] Francis Bacon is credited to be the first who used it in its modern sense. ^{[13] [14]}

Definition

In biology, the population term usually describes members of a species that can interbreed with each other and are geographically isolated from the other populations of the same species. Since all humans belong to the same species (Homo sapiens), they are all able to interbreed. Nevertheless, they represent different populations, separated from each other geographically, though global migration and transportation in the modern world diminishes boundaries between populations. ^[5]

A single geographic area doesn't have to contain a single human population. ^[5] Multiple human populations can coexist on the same territory because mating between them could be limited or inhibited by such factors as ethnicity, education level, social status, and religion. ^{[5] [2]} Although nations and populations are often distinct, their boundaries can be different. ^[5] In biological anthropology, the population definition also considers the culture shared between individuals and the time period in which a population lived, since the shared culture influenced mating behavior. ^[15]

Physical characteristics (like eye color) are not typically used by biologists to define a population, since grouping people by one physical trait does not make them similar in other traits, and in such cases, a single individual would be a member of numerous groups. Human races are not considered populations either, because races can include smaller populations and definitions of some of the races are originally based on physical characteristics. ^[5] Although the opposite opinion exists, thinking of a race as of a population subdivided into demes. ^[16]

Difference from other animals

There are three main factors that limit the size of a population in humans and other animals: available food sources, diseases and the environment. But humans differ from other animals in that they have cultural, social, and technological factors that influence reproduction and population growth. Among technological factors, medicine improved overall health and lowered mortality rate. ^[1]

See also

• Community (ecology)
• Human ecology

References

1. Michael S. Teitelbaum, Population at the Encyclopædia Britannica
2. Relethford, John H. (2012-03-27). Human Population Genetics. John Wiley & Sons. p. 18. ISBN   978-0-470-46467-0.
3. Ohtsuka, Ryutaro; Kawabe, Toshio; Inaoka, Tsukasa; Akimichi, Tomoya; Suzuki, Tsuguyoshi (1985). "Inter- and Intra-Population Migration of the Gidra in Lowland Papua: A Population-Ecological Analysis". Human Biology. 57 (1): 33–45. ISSN   0018-7143.
4. Miller, Elmer S.; Weitz, Charles A. (1979). Introduction to Anthropology. Prentice-Hall. p. 182. ISBN   978-0-13-478008-5.
5. Minkoff, Eli; Hood-DeGrenier, Jennifer K. (2023-07-24). Biology Trending: A Contemporary Issues Approach. CRC Press. pp. 237–239, 324. ISBN   978-1-000-87794-6.
6. Serrano Sanchez, C. (1996-04-01). "Introduction: The concept of population". International Journal of Anthropology. 11 (2): 15–18. doi: 10.1007/BF02441407 . ISSN   1824-3096.
7. Manglik, Mr Rohit (2023-11-23). Biological Diversity in Human Population: [9789368751571]. EduGorilla Publication. p. 14. ISBN   978-93-6875-157-1.
8. Carey, James R. (1993-02-04). Applied Demography for Biologists: with Special Emphasis on Insects. Oxford University Press. pp. 3–4. ISBN   978-0-19-802314-2.
9. Petersen, William (2017-07-05). From Birth to Death: A Consumer's Guide to Population Studies. Routledge. p. 1. ISBN   978-1-351-51888-8.
10. Comprehensive Biology XII. Firewall Media. p. 826. ISBN   978-81-7008-754-0.
11. Kreager, Philip; Winney, Bruce; Ulijaszek, Stanley; Capelli, Cristian (2015-03-05). Population in the Human Sciences: Concepts, Models, Evidence. OUP Oxford. p. 25. ISBN   978-0-19-151249-0.
12. "Population". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
13. Young, T. Kue (2005). Population Health: Concepts and Methods. Oxford University Press. p. 9. ISBN   978-0-19-515854-0.
14. Namboodiri, Krishnan (2013-06-29). A Primer of Population Dynamics. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 46. ISBN   978-1-4757-8994-2.
15. DiGangi, Elizabeth A.; Moore, Megan K. (2012-09-25). Research Methods in Human Skeletal Biology. Academic Press. p. 5. ISBN   978-0-12-385189-5.
16. Vogel, Friedrich; Motulsky, Arno G. (2013-04-17). Vogel and Motulsky's Human Genetics: Problems and Approaches. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 610. ISBN   978-3-662-03356-2.