November 8 - Montana becomes a State

Posted on November 8, 2021

Key Points

This is an update of my post published on November 8, 2010:

Montana became a state of the U.S. in 1889. This state is not very crowded. As a matter of fact, Montana’s postal code abbreviation (MT) is particularly appropriate, as license plates and stickers can read:

Montana is MT

This of course could be read, “Montana is empty.”

But this “Big Sky” state lures millions of tourists every year to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, Little Bighorn historical site, and the Louis and Clark Caverns. The postal code abbreviation is also appropriate because “Mt.” is sometimes used as an abbreviation for “mountain,” and the western third of Montana is covered with mountain ranges.

When we talk about how crowded or not-crowded a place is, we are talking about population density. Statistics about population density end up talking about averages, because we take the total population of the place and divide that number by the total area of the place. We get data we can compare:

Montana has about 7 people per square mile.

Japan has 899 people per square mile!

Some maps show population density.

Here is a quick quiz about population density in the U.S. and the world:

Montana is only the third least dense state in the U.S. Name a state that is even less densely populated.
Montana is about the same size as which nation?

a. Australia
b. Japan
c. Austria
What is the most densely populated nation in the world, with more than 43 THOUSAND people per square mile?

a. Monaco
b. Bangladesh
c. India
What is the least densely populated continent in the world?
What is the least densely populated country in the world?

a. Russia
b. Iceland
c. Mongolia
Which of these countries has a population density around 1,200 people per square mile?

a. China
b. South Korea
c. Egypt