NDA Geography · World and Human Geography

Human Geography — Megacities, Population and World Places

Megacities and the three population-density measures, plus the world-places gazetteer the NDA draws on — deserts, mountains, island groups, landlocked countries and the headquarters of global organisations.

All World and Human Geography notes NDA Geography strategy

Why this matters

15 PYQs — the largest cluster in the chapter and the broadest. Two themes are conceptual: what makes a megacity (New York was the first) and the three density measures (population, physiological, agricultural). The rest is a world gazetteer of named facts — driest desert (Atacama), the Caucasus between the Caspian and Black Seas, New Zealand in Polynesia, Armenia is landlocked, the WMO is in Geneva. Drill the tables; coverage is the whole game here.

Concept 1 of 5: Megacities and population density

A megacity is a very large urban agglomeration — by the common cut-off, a population of over 10 million. New York was the first city to reach megacity status. 'Density' is not one number but three, depending on what you divide the population by: spread it over the TOTAL area (population density), over the NET CULTIVABLE area (physiological density), or count only the FARMING population over cultivable land (agricultural density).

Definition

Megacity — a metropolitan area with a very large population (commonly defined as over 10 million). New York was the first city to attain megacity status.
Population density = total population ÷ total area.
Physiological density = total population ÷ net cultivable area.
Agricultural density = total agricultural population ÷ net cultivable area.

(All three definitions above are correct as stated in the PYQ.)

Worked example

Which density measure divides the total population by the net cultivable area (not the total area)?

Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

NDA · Apr 2022 · Q135Moderate

Example 1 · World and Human Geography · Human Geography — Megacities and Population

Which one of the following cities was the first to attain the status of a 'megacity'?

Drill 2 more on megacities and population density

Concept 2 of 5: World deserts and country nicknames

The NDA returns to a small set of named deserts and country nicknames. The Atacama (in Chile/South America) is the world's DRIEST desert; the Taklamakan is a cold desert of Central Asia (in western China). Among nicknames, Denmark is called the 'country of winds' for its strong, persistent westerlies and wind-power use.

Definition

Atacama — the world's driest desert (Chile, South America).
Taklamakan — a cold desert of Central Asia (Xinjiang, China).
Sahara (Africa) and Gobi (Mongolia/China) and Kalahari (southern Africa) are large but NOT the driest.
Denmark — the 'country of winds' (strong westerlies; a wind-energy leader).

Place	Fact
Atacama	World's driest desert (South America) NDA 2018 — Atacama is the driest desert, not the Sahara or Gobi.
Taklamakan	Cold desert of Central Asia (China) NDA 2017 — Taklamakan is in Central Asia.
Denmark	Called the 'country of winds' NDA 2020 — Denmark is the 'country of winds'.

Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

NDA · Apr 2018 · Q78Easy

Example 2 · World and Human Geography · Human Geography — Megacities and Population

Which one of the following is the driest desert of the world?

Driest is not the same as biggest

The Sahara is the largest hot desert and the Gobi is huge, but the driest desert is the Atacama. Don't pick on size.

Drill 2 more on world deserts and country nicknames

Concept 3 of 5: Rivers, mountains, oceans and island groups

A grab-bag of physical-geography place facts the NDA likes: where a famous delta is, which mountain range separates two seas, what two oceans a canal links, which Pacific island group a country belongs to, and which city is linked to a particular activity. These are pure map memory.

Definition

Mekong Delta — located in Vietnam (the Mekong's mouth on the South China Sea).
Caucasus — the mountain range lying between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea (Carpathians, Apennines and Elburz do not).
Panama Canal — links the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
New Zealand — part of the Polynesia island group of the Pacific.
Adelaide (Australia) — associated with viticulture (grape/wine growing).

Place	Fact
Mekong Delta	Vietnam
Caucasus Mountains	Lie between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea NDA 2020 — the Caucasus separates the Caspian and Black Seas.
Panama Canal	Links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans NDA 2020 — Panama joins the Atlantic to the Pacific.
New Zealand	Part of Polynesia
Adelaide	Known for viticulture (wine)

Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

NDA · Apr 2020 · Q117Easy

Example 3 · World and Human Geography · Human Geography — Megacities and Population

Which one of the following mountains lies in between Caspian Sea and Black Sea?

Drill 4 more on rivers, mountains, oceans and island groups

Concept 4 of 5: Landlocked countries

A landlocked country has no coastline — no direct access to the sea or ocean. To pick the landlocked one from a list, ask which country is fully surrounded by other countries' land. Among Syria, Jordan, Azerbaijan and Armenia, only Armenia is landlocked (Syria has a Mediterranean coast, Jordan touches the Red Sea at Aqaba, and Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea — which counts as sea access in the PYQ).

Definition

A landlocked country has no direct access to the sea or ocean — it is enclosed by land.
Among Syria, Jordan, Azerbaijan and Armenia, only Armenia is landlocked.
Note the borderline cases: Syria (Mediterranean coast), Jordan (Red Sea at Aqaba) and Azerbaijan (Caspian Sea coast) all have water access.

Worked example

Of Syria, Jordan, Azerbaijan and Armenia, which has NO direct access to the sea or ocean?

Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

NDA · Apr 2020 · Q120Moderate

Example 4 · World and Human Geography · Human Geography — Megacities and Population

Which one of the following countries does NOT have direct access to the sea/ocean?

Concept 5 of 5: Global organisations and environmental conventions

The NDA tests the seats of global organisations and the cities/years tied to environmental conventions. The World Meteorological Organization is headquartered in Geneva; the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000) takes its name from Cartagena; acid precipitation is the big environmental issue in eastern Canada; and the Biosphere Reserve idea was launched by UNESCO in 1973–74.

Definition

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) — headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000) — under the Convention on Biological Diversity; named after Cartagena.
Acid precipitation (acid rain) — a major environmental issue in eastern Canada.
Biosphere Reserves — the concept was initiated by UNESCO in 1973–74; India has many, but NOT all are in the UNESCO world network (so 'all are included' is the false statement).

Topic	Fact
WMO headquarters	Geneva NDA 2017 — the World Meteorological Organization is in Geneva.
Cartagena Protocol (2000)	Biosafety, under the Convention on Biological Diversity NDA 2020 — the Biosafety Protocol is the Cartagena Protocol.
Eastern Canada issue	Acid precipitation
Biosphere Reserve idea	UNESCO, 1973–74 NDA 2020 — true: UNESCO 1973–74; false: 'all Indian reserves are in the UNESCO network'.

Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

NDA · Apr 2017 · Q69Easy

Example 5 · World and Human Geography · Human Geography — Megacities and Population

Headquarters of the World Meteorological Organization is located in

'All Indian Biosphere Reserves are in the UNESCO network' is FALSE

The UNESCO 1973–74 origin is true, but the claim that every Indian Biosphere Reserve is in the UNESCO world network is false — only some are. That is the statement to reject.

Drill 3 more on global organisations and environmental conventions

Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance

A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.

Reference tables (3)

World deserts and country nicknames3 rows

Place	Fact
Atacama	World's driest desert (South America) NDA 2018 — Atacama is the driest desert, not the Sahara or Gobi.
Taklamakan	Cold desert of Central Asia (China) NDA 2017 — Taklamakan is in Central Asia.
Denmark	Called the 'country of winds' NDA 2020 — Denmark is the 'country of winds'.

Rivers, mountains, oceans and island groups5 rows

Place	Fact
Mekong Delta	Vietnam
Caucasus Mountains	Lie between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea NDA 2020 — the Caucasus separates the Caspian and Black Seas.
Panama Canal	Links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans NDA 2020 — Panama joins the Atlantic to the Pacific.
New Zealand	Part of Polynesia
Adelaide	Known for viticulture (wine)

Global organisations and environmental conventions4 rows

Topic	Fact
WMO headquarters	Geneva NDA 2017 — the World Meteorological Organization is in Geneva.
Cartagena Protocol (2000)	Biosafety, under the Convention on Biological Diversity NDA 2020 — the Biosafety Protocol is the Cartagena Protocol.
Eastern Canada issue	Acid precipitation
Biosphere Reserve idea	UNESCO, 1973–74 NDA 2020 — true: UNESCO 1973–74; false: 'all Indian reserves are in the UNESCO network'.

Watch out for (2)

Driest is not the same as biggest
→ World deserts and country nicknames
'All Indian Biosphere Reserves are in the UNESCO network' is FALSE
→ Global organisations and environmental conventions

Test yourself on World and Human Geography

10 past NDA questions from this chapter, timed at 10 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.

Take the World and Human Geography chapter test Drill all 16 questions