| 1 | The wasteland of the north is scarcely populated. | |
| 2 | The border region has only 500, 000 inhabitants, a small population for so large an area. | |
| 3 | Egypt has plenty of land, but much of it is sparsely inhabited. | |
| 4 | Though Canada covers a vast territory, much larger than that of China, it is thinly populated, less than 30 million. | |
| 5 | But here in Ordos, in north China's sparsely populated Inner Mongolia region, there is little second-guessing. |