Abstract:
Human births, deaths, and migration are the main three demographic
components that can lead to population changes in any geographical area. Especially, deaths, migration patterns, the decline
of fertility levels, and non-demographic factors such as rapid economic and
social changes will impact changing or decreasing the population growth. However, political and civil issues and other spatial, cultural,
and ethnic-related barriers also can impact on population growth of a country
or a specific area. A large population in an area directly impacts the
resources available in that location. Especially it can be directed to enhance
the population density, infrastructure issues, and food consumption-related
issues, and so on. Especially when considering
small-scale regions, those tend to be more conservative and it can be
influenced to produce different life patterns as well as different social and
demographic patterns.
Jaffna district is a small peninsula belonging to Sri Lanka and it was badly
faced with thirty years of a civil war between the Sri Lankan government and
LTTE. These long-lasting social, civil, and political issues influenced rapid
population changes in the Jaffna district and tended to create a diverse
population pattern in the district within the war period and after the post-war
period. It can be assumed that these population patterns could create different
environmental, demographical, and socio-economic implications. Therefore,
the main objective of this study is to analyze changing spatial patterns of
population density and forecast future population growth in the Jaffna
district.
