Abstract:

Population agglomeration and dispersion are the most direct and the most concentrated expression of population spatial distribution pattern. The research on population agglomeration and dispersion spatial pattern and its formation mechanisms in a specific region will not only help to reveal the population agglomeration and dispersion in the region of the inherent law itself, but also benefit the study of the overall regional population spatial pattern, and even further, the study of regional economy agglomeration and urbanization. With the largest population and significant difference in regional natural condition and economy, China’s population agglomeration and dispersion, in terms of not only the size but also complexity, are not comparable in the world. Thereby, research on the spatial pattern of China’s population agglomeration and dispersion, which will contribute to grasping the essence of China’s population spatial distribution pattern, is of great significance in both academy and practice. The article chose the classification evaluation of population agglomeration, which classified China into many population agglomeration types of different levels according to their population centralization index, and then, discussed them in each type. Based on this and the comprehensive consideration on the spatial distribution pattern of China’s population, natural conditions, human environment suitability and economic development, the article generalized the spatial pattern of China’s population agglomeration and dispersion .

Key words: China, classification evaluation, population agglomeration index, spatial pattern, urbanization, population agglomeration and dispersion