Rank Size Rule

Settlement

Learning outcomes
To

understand what the rank Size

rule is and the pattern that it tries to
outline

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

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
population of the 1st ranked city

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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