Center of population

Alternatively, one could define the centroid directly on a flat map projection; this is, for example, the definition that the US Census Bureau uses.

In that case, this center is easily found by taking separately the medians of the population's latitude and longitude coordinates.

Practical uses for finding the center of population include locating possible sites for forward capitals, such as Brasília, Astana or Austin, and, along the same lines, to make tax collection easier.

Practical selection of a new site for a capital is a complex problem that depends also on population density patterns and transportation networks.

[8] In Canada, a 1986 study placed the point of minimum aggregate travel just north of Toronto in the city of Richmond Hill, and moving westward at a rate of approximately 2 metres per day.

[10] China also plots its economic centroid or center of economy/GDP, which has also wandered, and is generally located at the eastern Henan borders.

The center of population of Estonia was on the northwestern shore of Lake Võrtsjärv in 1913 and moved an average of 6 km northwest with every decade until the 1970s.

[18] The centroid of population of Japan is in Gifu Prefecture, almost directly north of Nagoya city, and has been moving east-southeast for the past few decades.

[19] Since 2010, the only large regions in Japan with significant population growth have been in Greater Tokyo and Okinawa Prefecture.

In June 2008, New Zealand's median center of population was located near Taharoa, around 100 km (65 mi) southwest of Hamilton on the North Island's west coast.

[22] The center of population in the Russian Federation is calculated by A. K. Gogolev to be at 56°26′N 53°04′E / 56.433°N 53.067°E / 56.433; 53.067 as of 2010, 46.5 km (28.9 mi) south-southwest of Izhevsk.

For example, in 2010, the mean center was located near Plato, Missouri, in the south-central part of the state, whereas, in 1790, it was in Kent County, Maryland, 47 miles (76 km) east-northeast of the future federal capital, Washington, D.C.

For representational purposes only: The point on Earth closest to everyone in the world on average was calculated to be in Central Asia, with a mean distance of 5,000 kilometers (3,000 mi). Its antipodal point is correspondingly the farthest point from everyone on Earth, and is located in the South Pacific near Easter Island , with a mean distance of 15,000 kilometers (9,300 mi). The data used by this figure is lumped at the country level, and is therefore precise only to country-scale distances.
European Countries median center of population in 2011
New Zealand's median center of population over time