Human Geography

1. Rank Size Rule
Settlement

2. Learning outcomes
 To
understand what the rank Size
rule is and the pattern that it tries to
outline

3. Rank Size Rule
 This
is an attempt to find a numerical
relationship between population size
of settlements within an area such as
a country or county
 Settlements are ranked in
descending order of population size,
with the largest city first

4. Assumptions
 The
2nd ranked city will have 1/2 the
population of the 1st
 The 3rd ranked city will have 1/3
population of the 1st
 The 4th ranked city will have a ¼
population of the 1st ranked city

5. Example
 The
largest city has a population of
1,000,000
 The 2nd largest city: 1,000,000/2=
500,000
 The 3rd city: 1,000,000/3= 333,333
 The 4th city: 1,000,000/4= 250,000
 And so on….

6. Formula
This allows us to express the rank size rule
as:
 Pn= Pl /n (or R)

Pn= The population of the City
 Pl= The population of the largest city
 N (or R)= The rank size of the city


See graph Page 404/405 Brazil e.g.

7. Variations from the Rank Size Rule
 It
is rare to find a close correlation
between the city size of a country
and the rank size rule

8. Primate City
 This
is found where the largest city
(often the capital) completely
dominates a country or region
 The population size will be many
times greater than that of the 2nd or
3rd city

9. Example of Primate City: Buenos
Aires
 Populations
in thousands:
 Buenos Aires: 10,990
 Cordoba:
1198
 Rosario:
1096
 Mendoza:
775
 La Plata:
640
 San Miguel de Tucuman: 622

10. Binary Distribution
 Occurs
where there are 2 very large
cities of almost equal size within the
same country. One may be the
capital and the other a major port or
industrial centre
 Examples: Spain- Barcelona and
Madrid

11. Exceptions to the rule
Rank size rule is more likely to operate in
a country that is developed or urbanised
for a long time
 Large in size
 Stable economic and political organisation
 Primate distribution is likely to occur in
countries that are small, less developed
and only recently urbanised
