Center of population

The point on earth to which all inhabitants of the world have the shortest route on average is in the northern part of South Asia with a mean distance of 5000 km. Its antipodal point is correspondingly the most distant point for all people on earth. It is located in the South Pacific near Easter Island , at an average distance of 15,000 km.

The population center is the point to which all residents of an area have the shortest route on average. It only takes into account the distance, but ignores the accessibility (location, mountains , etc.). The center of the population is thus an subsequently imposed quantity. Therefore it is seldom the same as the capital of an area, often not even in an inhabited area.

Center of population of the USA

The center of the population shifted continuously and straight to the west due to the continued west migration from Baltimore ( Maryland ) on the east coast (1790) and reached southeast Indiana in 1900 . In the 20th century, the center of gravity moved in a south-westerly direction and crossed the Mississippi in 1980.