Inhabitant

An inhabitant is a person, or sometimes an organism, that lives in or occupies a particular place. In common usage the term refers to human residents of a city, country, or other geographic area, but it can also describe animals, plants, or microorganisms that dwell within a habitat. The word derives from the Latin habitare, to dwell, and entered English via Old French inhabitant, with the sense of someone who resides in a locality.

In human geography and demography, inhabitants are counted in population statistics and censuses, with distinctions often made between inhabitants and other status terms such as residents, citizens, or domicile holders. Inhabitant emphasizes the act of living in a place, rather than formal rights or long-term legal status; thus a temporary worker or a former resident could be described as an inhabitant of a place during their stay.

The opposite is uninhabited, describing a place that lacks inhabitants. The term is widely used in ecological contexts as well, for example “the inhabitants of a coral reef” to refer to the organisms that inhabit that environment. Synonyms include resident, dweller, occupant, or settler, depending on connotation and context.

See also: population, census, resident, dweller, domicile, settler, citizen, ecosystem.