Population and Human settlements | ISC Class 12 Geography Notes

This note covers the population of India and its share of world population, the meaning of census and the index of concentration, the patterns and factors behind the spatial distribution and density of population (arithmetic, physiological and agricultural density), the pattern of population growth over the last three decades and its implications for development, migration trends over the last 25 years with their types, streams and causes, and the demographic attributes of rural-urban composition and age-sex composition.

What is India's population, and what is its position in the world?

India's population size

India is the second most populous country after China, with a total population of 1,210 million in 2011. India's population is larger than the total population of North America, South America and Australia put together.

It is often argued that such a large population puts pressure on the country's limited resources and is also responsible for many socio-economic problems in the country.

India's share of world population

India's population of 1,210 million in 2011 was about 17.5 per cent of the world population of roughly 6,900 million at that time. India therefore held close to one-sixth of the world's people on about 2.4 per cent of the world's land area.

This large share explains why India's population is studied separately from its land area: the country supports a very large number of people on a comparatively small resource base.

Census as a source of population data

Population data for India are collected through a Census operation held every ten years. The first population census in India was conducted in 1872, but its first complete census was conducted only in 1881.

A census operation does not merely count heads: it also gathers related demographic, social and economic information about the people enumerated, such as their age, sex, occupation, language and religion. This is why the census remains the main source used to study the distribution, density, growth and composition of India's population.

Definition: Census. A census is the official, periodic counting of a population together with the collection of related demographic, social and economic information. In India it is carried out every ten years, with 1881 as the first complete all-India census.

How is population distributed across India, and what explains this pattern?

India has a highly uneven pattern of population distribution. Uttar Pradesh has the highest population, followed by Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal.

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat together account for about 76 per cent of the total population of the country.

On the other hand, the share of population is very small in states with fairly large geographical area, such as Jammu & Kashmir (1.04%), Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%) and Uttarakhand (0.84%).

This uneven spatial distribution suggests a close relationship between population and physical, socio-economic and historical factors:

• Landforms and climate: climate along with terrain and availability of water largely determines the pattern of population distribution. The North Indian Plains, deltas and coastal plains have a higher proportion of population than the interior districts of southern and central Indian states, the Himalayas and some north-eastern and western states.
• Accessibility and level of development: development of irrigation (Rajasthan), availability of mineral and energy resources (Jharkhand) and development of transport networks (peninsular states) have resulted in moderate to high concentration of population in areas that were previously thinly populated.
• Socio-economic and historical factors: the evolution of settled agriculture, patterns of human settlement, transport networks, industrialisation and urbanisation have kept population concentration high in river plains and coastal areas, even where land and water use shows signs of degradation, because of an early history of settlement.
• Urbanisation and migration: urban regions such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Jaipur have high concentration of population owing to industrial development and urbanisation, which draws large numbers of rural-urban migrants.

On an outline map of India, use dots to represent population spread (one dot = 200,000 persons as in the printed dot-density map), and mark the states with the largest population shares (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal) and the states with very small population shares (Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand), along with neighbouring countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka) and the Tropic of Cancer.

Note: index of concentration. This is a measure, derived by comparing the cumulative percentage share of population against the cumulative percentage share of area, of how concentrated population is relative to land.

A higher index indicates sharper concentration of population in a smaller area; a lower index indicates a more even spread.

What is the density of population in India, and how does it vary?

Density of population is expressed as the number of persons per unit area and helps in understanding the spatial distribution of population in relation to land. The density of population in India in 2011 was 382 persons per sq km.

There has been a steady increase of more than 200 persons per sq km over the last 50 years, from 117 persons per sq km in 1951 to 382 persons per sq km in 2011.

Density varies widely: from as low as 17 persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to 11,297 persons per sq km in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Among northern Indian states, Bihar (1,102), West Bengal (1,029) and Uttar Pradesh (828) have higher densities, while Kerala (859) and Tamil Nadu (555) have higher densities among the peninsular states.

States such as Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Odisha have moderate densities. The hill states of the Himalayan region and the north-eastern states (excluding Assam) have relatively low densities, while most Union Territories (excluding Andaman and Nicobar Islands) have very high densities.

Arithmetic density of population is a crude measure of the human-land relationship. For a country like India with a large agricultural population, the physiological and agricultural densities give a better insight into the pressure of population on cultivable land.

Definition: physiological density. Physiological density = total population ÷ net cultivated area. It measures the pressure of total population on the land actually under cultivation.

Definition: agricultural density. Agricultural density = total agricultural population ÷ net cultivable area. Agricultural population includes cultivators and agricultural labourers and their family members.

On an outline map, shade states in five categories as in the printed map (above 1,201; 801-1,200; 401-800; 101-400; less than 100 persons per sq km) and mark Delhi as the highest-density unit and Arunachal Pradesh as the lowest.

Comparison of density at the State level and the factors influencing it

State densities differ sharply, and the differences follow the same physical and human factors that shape distribution. Bihar (1,102), West Bengal (1,029) and Kerala (859) are dense because of fertile alluvial or coastal plains, assured rainfall and long histories of settled agriculture.

Delhi (11,297) and other Union Territories are dense because they are small in area but carry the population of a large city, with industry, administration and services concentrated in a compact space.

Arunachal Pradesh (17) and the Himalayan and north-eastern hill states are sparse because of rugged terrain, steep slopes, heavy forest cover, poor accessibility and a short growing season.

Rajasthan and Gujarat show moderate densities overall, but irrigation and mineral and energy resources have raised concentration in particular districts. Jharkhand combines mineral wealth with moderate density, while the peninsular states gain from transport networks and industrialisation.

In short, high state density usually reflects fertile land, water, accessibility and development, while low density reflects difficult terrain, climate and remoteness.

How is the growth of population measured, and what are the terms used?

Growth of population is the change in the number of people living in a particular area between two points in time, and its rate is expressed in percentage. Population growth has two components: natural and induced.

Natural growth is assessed by the crude birth and death rates; the induced component is explained by the volume of inward and outward movement of people (migration).

Definition: key terms. Population is the total number of persons living in a defined area at a given time. Birth rate is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year.

Death rate is the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year. Population growth rate is the percentage change in population between two points in time. Natural growth rate is the difference between birth rate and death rate.

Migratory growth is the change in population caused by net migration (immigration minus emigration) into or out of an area.

The decadal growth rate is calculated using a standard formula, where p1 is the population of the base year and p2 is the population of the present year:

g = (p2−p1)/p1 ×100

Definition: population doubling time. Population doubling time is the time taken by any population to double itself at its current annual growth rate.

The annual growth rate of India's population was 1.64 per cent in 2011.

Worked example 1. Using the formula g = (p2−p1)/p1 ×100, calculate the decadal growth rate between 1991 (population 846,302,688) and 2001 (population 1,028,610,328).

Answer: p1 = 846,302,688, p2 = 1,028,610,328. p2 − p1 = 182,307,640. g = 182,307,640 ÷ 846,302,688 × 100 = 21.54 per cent, matching the printed growth rate for 1991-2001.

What is the pattern of population growth in India over the last century, and what are its implications?

The table below gives the decadal growth rates of India's population from 1901 to 2011.

The four phases of population growth

Four distinct phases of growth are identified over this period:

1. Phase I (1901-1921), stagnant or stationary: growth rate was very low, even negative during 1911-1921. Both birth rate and death rate were high. Poor health and medical services, illiteracy, and an inefficient distribution system for food and other basic necessities were largely responsible for the high birth and death rates.
2. Phase II (1921-1951), steady population growth: an overall improvement in health and sanitation brought down the mortality rate, while better transport and communication improved the distribution system. The crude birth rate remained high, leading to a higher growth rate than the previous phase, despite the Great Economic Depression of the 1920s and the Second World War.
3. Phase III (1951-1981), population explosion: caused by a rapid fall in the mortality rate but a high fertility rate. The average annual growth rate was as high as 2.2 per cent. After Independence, centralised planning improved living conditions, giving high natural increase; increased international migration (Tibetans, Bangladeshis, Nepalis and people from Pakistan) also contributed to the high growth rate.
4. Phase IV (post 1981 to present): the growth rate, though still high, has started slowing down gradually. A downward trend of crude birth rate is held responsible, in turn affected by an increase in the mean age at marriage and improved quality of life, particularly female education.

The growth rate of population is still high, and the World Development Report projected that India's population would touch 1,350 million by 2025.

Regional variation in growth rates

During 1991-2001, states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry and Goa showed low growth (not exceeding 20 per cent), with Kerala registering the lowest growth rate (9.4) in the country.

A continuous belt from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand had an average growth rate of 20-25 per cent.

During 2001-2011, growth rates fell for almost all states compared to the previous decade; among the six most populous states the fall was lowest for Andhra Pradesh (3.5 percentage points) and highest for Maharashtra (6.7 percentage points), while Tamil Nadu (3.9 percentage points) and Puducherry (7.1 percentage points) registered some increase.

Implications for development

Rapid population growth has implications for development: it increases pressure on limited resources, strains infrastructure, housing, food supply and employment, and can degrade the environment through overuse of land, water and forest resources.

This is why planned development is needed to balance population growth with resource use and maintain ecological balance.

On an outline map, shade states in five categories as in the printed map (above 25; 20-25; 15-20; 10-15; less than 10 per cent growth) and mark Kerala as a low-growth state and the north-western/central belt states as higher-growth states.

What are the migration trends, types, streams and causes?

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another with an intention to settle, permanently or temporarily, at the new place. A person who migrates is called a migrant.

Definition: push and pull factors. Push factors are unfavourable conditions at the place of origin (such as unemployment, poverty, lack of safety or natural disasters) that force people to leave. Pull factors are favourable conditions at the destination (such as better employment, education or living conditions) that attract migrants.

Definition: step-wise migration. Step-wise migration is a gradual, staged movement of a migrant, typically from a village to a nearby town, then to a larger city, and eventually to a metropolitan centre, rather than a single direct move.

Migration is classified by distance and direction:

1. Types by boundary crossed: internal (national) migration, within the boundaries of a country, and international migration, across national boundaries.
2. Inter-regional migration: movement between two different administrative units, such as from one state to another.
3. Intra-regional migration: movement within the same administrative unit, such as within a state or district.
4. Streams of migration: four streams are recognised by the direction of movement: rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to urban, and urban to rural.

Causes of migration include natural causes (floods, droughts and other disasters that force displacement), economic causes (search for better employment, wages or business opportunities), political causes (conflict, persecution or displacement due to unrest) and social causes (marriage, education, or joining family members already settled elsewhere).

Migration trends over the last 25 years

Over the last 25 years, from the 1991 census to the 2011 census, migration in India has grown in volume and has become increasingly directed towards cities. The urban population rose from 217.6 million in 1991 to 377 million in 2011, and the share of urban population rose from 25.71 per cent to 31.16 per cent over the same period.

The rural to urban stream has been the most important stream in this growth, feeding the large cities and the industrial corridors along the main road and rail links. Rural to rural migration, largely driven by marriage and agricultural work, remains the largest stream by volume.

Urban to urban migration has grown with the spread of services and administration, while urban to rural migration remains small. The direction of movement is mainly from the densely peopled and agriculturally stagnant plains towards the industrial and service centres.

Rural-urban migration, in particular, has increased with industrialisation and the growth of cities, as discussed in the next section.

What is the rural-urban composition of India's population?

Composition of population by place of residence is an important indicator of social and economic characteristics. About 68.8 per cent of India's total population lived in villages in 2011. India had 640,867 villages according to the 2011 census, of which 597,608 (93.2 per cent) were inhabited villages.

The distribution of rural population is not uniform. States such as Himachal Pradesh and Bihar have a very high percentage of rural population, while Goa and Mizoram have only a little over half of their total population residing in villages.

Village size also varies considerably: it is less than 200 persons in the hill states of north-eastern India, western Rajasthan and the Rann of Kuchchh, and as high as 17,000 persons in the state of Kerala and parts of Maharashtra.

Urban population, at 31.16 per cent, is quite low but is growing at a much faster rate, accelerated by economic development and improved health and hygienic conditions.

Rural-urban migration is conspicuous along the main road and rail links in the North Indian Plains and around industrial areas such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru-Mysuru, Madurai-Coimbatore, Ahmedabad-Surat, Delhi-Kanpur and Ludhiana-Jalandhar.

Urbanisation has remained low in the agriculturally stagnant middle and lower Ganga plains, Telangana, non-irrigated western Rajasthan, remote hilly tribal areas of the north-east, flood-prone areas of peninsular India and the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh.

The level of urbanisation, measured as the percentage of urban population to total population, rose to 31.16 per cent in 2011, which is quite low compared to developed countries.

Total urban population increased eleven-fold during the twentieth century, but the growth rate of urbanisation has slowed down during the last two decades.

What are the demographic attributes of age-sex composition, language and religion?

Age-sex composition and adolescents

Age composition divides the population into broad age groups, commonly children (0-14 years), the working-age group (15-59 years) and the elderly (60 years and above), while sex composition is studied through the sex ratio, the number of females per thousand males.

An important aspect of population growth is the growth of adolescents (the 10-19 years age group), who made up about 20.9 per cent of the population in 2011; among adolescents, males constituted 52.7 per cent and females 47.3 per cent.

This group, though youthful and full of potential, is vulnerable to challenges such as early marriage, illiteracy (particularly female illiteracy), school dropout, poor nutrition and high maternal mortality among adolescent mothers.

The National Youth Policy (NYP-2014), launched in February 2014, proposes a holistic vision "to empower the youth of the country to achieve their full potential, and through them enable India to find its rightful place in the community of nations", and defines "youth" as persons in the age group of 15-29 years.

The Government of India also formulated the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2015.

Linguistic composition

India is linguistically diverse. According to Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India (1903-1928), there were 179 languages and 544 dialects in the country; modern India recognises about 22 scheduled languages along with many non-scheduled languages.

Among scheduled languages, Hindi speakers have the highest percentage; the smallest groups are Sanskrit, Bodo and Manipuri speakers (2011). Linguistic regions do not have sharp boundaries but gradually merge in frontier zones.

Indian languages belong to four families: Austric (1.38%), Dravidian (20%), Sino-Tibetan (0.85%) and Indo-European (73%, mainly Indo-Aryan).

Religious composition

Hindus are a major group in most states (ranging from 70 to 90 per cent and above), except along the Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Pakistan borders, in Jammu & Kashmir, the hill states of the north-east and scattered areas of the Deccan Plateau and Ganga Plain.

Muslims, the largest religious minority, are concentrated in Jammu & Kashmir, certain districts of West Bengal and Kerala, many districts of Uttar Pradesh, in and around Delhi and in Lakshadweep, forming majorities in the Kashmir valley and Lakshadweep.

Christians are concentrated along the western coast around Goa and Kerala, and in the hill states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. Sikhs are mostly concentrated in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

Jains and Buddhists are the smallest religious groups, concentrated in urban Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra (Jains) and mostly in Maharashtra, with other pockets in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh (Buddhists).

What is the composition of India's working population?

India's population according to economic status is divided into main workers, marginal workers and non-workers.

Note: Standard Census Definition. A main worker is a person who works for at least 183 days (six months) in a year. A marginal worker is a person who works for less than 183 days (six months) in a year.

The proportion of workers (main and marginal together) was only 39.8 per cent in 2011, leaving a vast majority of about 60 per cent as non-workers, indicating a large dependent population and possible unemployment or under-employment.

Work participation rate

The work participation rate ranged from about 29.1 per cent in Lakshadweep to about 51.9 per cent in Himachal Pradesh; states with higher participation include Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya.

Work participation tends to be higher in less economically developed areas, where more manual workers are needed for subsistence activities.

Occupational structure

The 2011 census divides working population into four occupational categories:

1. Cultivators
2. Agricultural labourers
3. Household industrial workers
4. Other workers

About 54.6 per cent of total working population are cultivators and agricultural labourers, 3.8 per cent are engaged in household industries, and 41.6 per cent are other workers, including non-household industries, trade, commerce, construction and other services.

Male workers outnumber female workers in all three sectors, though female workers are relatively concentrated in the primary sector, with some improvement in women's participation in secondary and tertiary sectors in recent years.

The proportion of workers in the agricultural sector declined from 58.2 per cent in 2001 to 54.6 per cent in 2011, indicating a sectoral shift towards non-farm occupations.

A stacked bar chart showing, state by state, the percentage of workers in four categories: cultivators, agricultural labourers, household industry workers and other workers, from Jammu & Kashmir down to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

What are rural settlements, and how are they classified?

A human settlement is a cluster of dwellings of any type or size where human beings live; people erect houses and command some area as their economic support base.

Settlements range from a hamlet to a metropolitan city; as size changes, so does economic character, social structure, ecology and technology.

Sparsely located small settlements specialising in agriculture or other primary activities are called rural settlements (villages); fewer but larger settlements specialising in secondary and tertiary activities are called urban settlements.

Rural settlements derive their livelihood from land-based primary activities, while urban settlements depend on processing raw materials, manufacturing and services. Cities act as nodes of economic growth, exchanging goods and services with their rural hinterlands through transport and communication networks.

Rural people are less mobile, so social relations among them are intimate; urban life is more complex and fast, with formal social relations.

Factors influencing rural settlement patterns

Types of rural settlement are determined by the extent of the built-up area and inter-house distance, and are influenced by physical features (terrain, altitude, climate, water availability), cultural and ethnic factors (social structure, caste, religion) and security factors (defence against theft and robbery).

Types of rural settlements

Indian rural settlements fall broadly into four types:

1. Clustered, agglomerated or nucleated settlements: a compact, closely built-up area of houses, distinct from surrounding farms, barns and pastures, often in recognisable patterns (rectangular, radial, linear). Found generally in fertile alluvial plains and north-eastern states, also for defence reasons in Bundelkhand and Nagaland, and in Rajasthan for maximum use of scarce water.
2. Semi-clustered or fragmented settlements: result from clustering in a restricted area of a dispersed settlement, or from segregation of a large compact village, with the land-owning dominant community occupying the centre and lower-strata groups settling on the outer flanks. Widespread in the Gujarat plain and parts of Rajasthan.
3. Hamleted settlements: fragmented into several units physically separated but bearing a common name, locally called panna, para, palli, nagla or dhani, often motivated by social and ethnic factors. More frequent in the middle and lower Ganga plain, Chhattisgarh and lower valleys of the Himalayas.
4. Dispersed or isolated settlements: appear as isolated huts or small hamlets in remote jungles or on small hills with farms or pastures on the slopes, often caused by extremely fragmented terrain. Found in many areas of Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.

An aerial photograph showing a densely packed cluster of houses forming a compact village settlement on a hillside.

An aerial photograph of a village with houses grouped in a few separate clusters along a hillside with roads connecting them.

A photograph of a hilly, forested landscape with a few scattered small clusters of white-roofed structures visible at a distance.

What are urban settlements, and how have towns evolved in India?

Urban settlements are generally compact and larger in size, engaged in a variety of non-agricultural, economic and administrative functions, and are functionally linked to surrounding rural areas through exchange of goods and services, directly or through market towns.

The Census of India, 1991 defines a town as a place with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee, a minimum population of 5,000 persons, at least 75 per cent of male workers engaged in non-agricultural pursuits, and a density of population of at least 400 persons per square kilometre.

Evolution of towns

Towns flourished in India since prehistoric times, even during the Indus Valley civilisation (Harappa and Mohenjodaro). On the basis of their evolution, Indian towns are classified as:

• Ancient towns: historical background spanning over 2,000 years, mostly developed as religious and cultural centres, such as Varanasi, Prayagraj, Pataliputra (Patna) and Madurai.
• Medieval towns: about 100 existing towns rooted in the medieval period, mostly fort towns developed as headquarters of principalities and kingdoms on the ruins of ancient towns, such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Agra and Nagpur.
• Modern towns: developed by the British and other Europeans, starting as trading ports (Surat, Daman, Goa, Pondicherry) and later consolidated around Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata built in British style, with administrative centres, hill-town summer resorts, and industrial towns after 1850 (such as Jamshedpur). After independence, towns developed as administrative headquarters (Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Dispur), industrial centres (Durgapur, Bhilai, Sindri, Barauni) and satellite towns around metropolitan cities (Ghaziabad, Rohtak, Gurugram around Delhi).

Functional classification of towns

Apart from acting as central or nodal places, towns and cities perform specialised functions. On the basis of dominant function, Indian towns are classified as:

1. Administrative towns: Chandigarh, New Delhi, Bhopal, Shillong, Guwahati, Imphal, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Chennai.
2. Industrial towns: Mumbai, Salem, Coimbatore, Modinagar, Jamshedpur, Hugli, Bhilai.
3. Transport cities: ports such as Kandla, Cochin, Kozhikode, Visakhapatnam, or inland hubs such as Agra, Dhulia, Itarsi, Katni.
4. Commercial towns: Kolkata, Saharanpur, Satna.
5. Mining towns: Raniganj, Jharia, Digboi, Ankaleshwar, Singrauli.
6. Garrison cantonment towns: Ambala, Jalandhar, Mhow, Babina, Udhampur.
7. Educational towns: Roorkee, Varanasi, Aligarh, Pilani, Prayagraj.
8. Religious and cultural towns: Varanasi, Mathura, Amritsar, Madurai, Puri, Ajmer, Pushkar, Tirupati, Kurukshetra, Haridwar, Ujjain.
9. Tourist towns: Nainital, Mussoorie, Shimla, Pachmarhi, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udagamandalam (Ooty), Mount Abu.

Cities are not static: even specialised cities, as they grow into metropolises, become multi-functional, with industry, business, administration and transport all becoming important, so that functions become intertwined and the city cannot be placed in a single functional class.

A street-level photograph of a modern city road lined with buildings, a fenced median, a parked car and pedestrians.

Case study: migration corridors and industrial towns in India

Case study: rural-urban migration corridors

Rural-urban migration is conspicuous along the main road and rail links in the North Indian Plains and around industrial areas such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru-Mysuru, Madurai-Coimbatore, Ahmedabad-Surat, Delhi-Kanpur and Ludhiana-Jalandhar. These corridors combine transport access with industrial employment, so they draw large numbers of migrants and show a considerable increase of urban population, reflecting both improving socio-economic conditions and higher rates of rural-urban migration.

By contrast, urbanisation has remained low in the agriculturally stagnant middle and lower Ganga plains, Telangana, non-irrigated western Rajasthan, the remote hilly tribal areas of the north-east, flood-prone areas of peninsular India and the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh. Comparing these two sets of regions shows that migration and urban growth in India follow transport links and industrial opportunity rather than population size alone.

Case study: Jamshedpur and the satellite towns around Delhi

Towns based on modern industries evolved in India after 1850, and Jamshedpur is an example of such a modern industrial town. After independence, a number of old towns developed as satellite towns around metropolitan cities, such as Ghaziabad, Rohtak and Gurugram around Delhi, while other towns such as Durgapur, Bhilai, Sindri and Barauni grew as new industrial centres.

These examples show how the functional character of a settlement can arise at different periods, from colonial-era industrialisation to post-independence planning, and how a city's function is not fixed: as specialised industrial or satellite towns grow, they tend to become multi-functional, combining industry, administration, transport and services rather than remaining single-function centres.

What are the trends and patterns of age and sex composition?

Age composition: trends and patterns

Age composition divides the population into broad age groups, commonly children (0-14 years), the working-age group (15-59 years) and the elderly (60 years and above). India's population has a broad base, with a large share of children and a comparatively small share of the elderly.

This young age structure means a large dependent population of children, a growing working-age population and a rising demand for schools, health care and later for jobs. As the birth rate falls, the share of children slowly declines and the share of the working-age group rises.

Sex composition: trends and patterns

Sex composition is studied through the sex ratio, the number of females per thousand males. India's sex ratio has remained unfavourable to females, and it has moved only slowly over the last century.

The sex ratio was 972 females per thousand males in 1901, fell to 927 in 1991, and rose to 940 in 2011. The fall up to 1991 and the slow recovery after it are the two main trends of the pattern.

The low ratio reflects a preference for sons, female foeticide and higher female mortality at younger ages, while the recent rise reflects improving female literacy, health care and legal protection.

The ratio also varies by state: Kerala has a high sex ratio, while states in the north-west such as Haryana and Punjab have low ratios. Urban areas generally show a lower ratio than rural areas because of male-dominated migration to cities.

Going beyond the syllabus

These ideas extend the unit and are not needed for the questions on it. They are kept here for wider reading only.

What is the Smart Cities Mission?

The Smart Cities Mission promotes cities that provide core infrastructure, a clean and sustainable environment and a decent quality of life to their citizens. One feature of smart cities is applying smart solutions to infrastructure and services to make them better, for example making areas less vulnerable to disasters, using fewer resources and providing cheaper services. The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development, looking at compact areas to create a replicable model that can act like a lighthouse to other aspiring cities.

What does the 'Beti Bachao - Beti Padhao' campaign address?

The 'Beti Bachao - Beti Padhao' campaign addresses gender discrimination. Biological differences between male, female and transgender persons become, through social institutions, the basis of social differentiation, discrimination and exclusion, and the exclusion of over half the population is a serious handicap to any developing and civilised society. This is a global challenge, acknowledged by the United Nations Development Programme in its Human Development Report (1995) with the line: "If development is not engendered it is endangered." The campaign aims to address denial of opportunities in education, employment and political representation, and unequal wages for similar work.

Glossary

• Census — the official, periodic (ten-yearly) count of population with related social and economic data.
• Arithmetic density — the number of persons living per unit area, usually per square kilometre.
• Physiological density — total population divided by net cultivated area.
• Agricultural density — total agricultural population (cultivators, labourers and their families) divided by net cultivable area.
• Index of concentration — a measure comparing the cumulative share of population with the cumulative share of area to show how concentrated population is.
• Population doubling time — the time a population takes to double itself at its current annual growth rate.
• Decadal growth rate — the percentage change in population between the base year and the present year of a census decade.
• Natural growth rate — the difference between the birth rate and the death rate of a population.
• Migratory growth — population change caused by net migration into or out of an area.
• Migrant — a person who moves from one place to settle, permanently or temporarily, at another place.
• Push and pull factors — unfavourable conditions at the origin and favourable conditions at the destination that cause migration.
• Step-wise migration — gradual migration through successive, larger settlements rather than in one move.
• Sex ratio — the number of females per thousand males in a population.
• Main worker — a person who works for at least 183 days (six months) in a year.
• Marginal worker — a person who works for less than 183 days (six months) in a year.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: arithmetic density and physiological density mean the same thing. Correct: arithmetic density divides population by total area, while physiological density divides it only by net cultivated area, giving a sharper measure of pressure on farmland.
• Misconception: a high population growth rate always means a high birth rate. Correct: growth rate depends on the natural increase (birth rate minus death rate) and migration; a falling birth rate combined with a very low death rate can still give moderate growth.
• Misconception: a large state has a large population. Correct: states such as Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh have large geographical area but a very small share of population.
• Misconception: migration only happens for economic reasons. Correct: migration also occurs for social (marriage, education), political (conflict, persecution) and natural (disaster) causes.
• Misconception: India's rural population is declining in absolute numbers. Correct: it is the proportion of urban population that is rising faster, while most Indians (68.8 per cent in 2011) still live in villages.
• Misconception: the sex ratio has steadily improved since 1901. Correct: it fell from 972 in 1901 to 927 in 1991 and only then rose to 940 in 2011.
• Misconception: a low index of concentration means a large population. Correct: the index measures concentration relative to area, so a thinly peopled hill state can have a low index while a small territory with a large city has a high one.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. State the density of population of India in 2011. [1 mark]

1. 382 persons per square kilometre.

Q2. Define the index of concentration. [2 marks]

1. It is a measure that compares the cumulative percentage share of population with the cumulative percentage share of area.
2. A higher index shows sharper concentration of population in a smaller area, and a lower index shows a more even spread.

Q3. Assertion: The density of population is very high in Delhi. Reason: Delhi is a small Union Territory carrying the population of a large city. Choose the correct option: (a) both true and Reason explains Assertion, (b) both true but Reason does not explain Assertion, (c) Assertion true and Reason false, (d) both false. [1 mark]

1. Option (a): both statements are true and the Reason correctly explains the Assertion.

Q4. Distinguish between arithmetic density and physiological density. [4 marks]

1. Arithmetic density is the number of persons per unit of total area, while physiological density is total population divided by net cultivated area.
2. Arithmetic density uses the whole land area as the denominator; physiological density uses only the land actually under cultivation.
3. Arithmetic density is a crude measure of the human-land relationship; physiological density shows the real pressure of population on farmland.
4. For India, with a large agricultural population, physiological density is the more meaningful measure.

Q5. Explain the factors that cause differences in density of population between states of India. [4 marks]

1. Fertile alluvial and coastal plains with assured water, as in Bihar, West Bengal and Kerala, support high densities.
2. Rugged terrain, steep slopes, forest cover and poor accessibility keep densities low in Arunachal Pradesh and the Himalayan and north-eastern hill states.
3. Irrigation, mineral and energy resources and transport networks raise concentration in otherwise thinly peopled districts, as in Rajasthan, Jharkhand and the peninsular states.
4. Small Union Territories with large cities, such as Delhi, have very high densities because population is packed into a small area.

Q6. Analyse the trends of birth rate, death rate and natural growth rate in India from 1991 to the latest census, and evaluate their effect on development. [7 marks]

1. The birth rate has fallen steadily since 1991, from about 29.5 per thousand in 1991 to about 21.8 per thousand in 2011.
2. The death rate has fallen more slowly, from about 9.8 per thousand in 1991 to about 7.1 per thousand in 2011.
3. The natural growth rate, the difference between the two, fell from about 19.7 per thousand in 1991 to about 14.7 per thousand in 2011.
4. The fall in the birth rate is linked to a rise in the mean age at marriage, female education and family welfare measures.
5. The fall in the death rate reflects better health care, sanitation and control of epidemics.
6. Slower growth eases pressure on food, housing, schools and jobs, and helps planned development maintain ecological balance.
7. Even so, the absolute number added each decade remains large, so sustained investment in health, education and employment is still needed.

Q7. Describe the trends and patterns of the sex ratio in India. [4 marks]

1. The sex ratio was 972 females per thousand males in 1901 and fell to 927 in 1991.
2. It then rose to 940 in 2011, a slow recovery.
3. The low ratio reflects a preference for sons, female foeticide and higher female mortality at younger ages.
4. Kerala has a high sex ratio while Haryana and Punjab have low ratios, and urban areas generally show a lower ratio than rural areas.

Q8. Evaluate the role of migration in the growth of urban population in India over the last 25 years. [7 marks]

1. The urban population rose from 217.6 million in 1991 to 377 million in 2011, and its share rose from 25.71 per cent to 31.16 per cent.
2. Rural to urban migration has been the most important stream feeding this growth, especially along the main road and rail links and industrial corridors.
3. Rural to rural migration, driven by marriage and agricultural work, remains the largest stream by volume.
4. Urban to urban migration has grown with the spread of services and administration, while urban to rural migration remains small.
5. Push factors such as unemployment and poverty in villages, and pull factors such as jobs and services in cities, drive the movement.
6. Migration supplies labour to industry and services and raises urban output, but it also strains housing, water and transport in cities.
7. Regions that are agriculturally stagnant or remote, such as the middle Ganga plains and the north-eastern hills, send migrants and urbanise slowly.

Q9. On an outline map of India, mark and label one state with the highest density of population and one with the lowest density of population. [2 marks]

1. Delhi, the National Capital Territory, with 11,297 persons per sq km, is marked as the highest-density unit.
2. Arunachal Pradesh, with 17 persons per sq km, is marked as the lowest-density state.

Key takeaways

• India's population (1,210 million in 2011) is the second largest in the world after China, about 17.5 per cent of the world total.
• Population distribution in India is highly uneven, shaped by climate, terrain, water availability, irrigation, resources, transport and urbanisation.
• Arithmetic density (382 persons per sq km, 2011) is a crude measure; physiological and agricultural densities give a sharper picture of pressure on farmland.
• India's population growth passed through four phases: stagnant (1901-1921), steady (1921-1951), explosive (1951-1981) and a gradually slowing growth (post-1981).
• Birth rate, death rate and natural growth rate all fell between 1991 and 2011, easing but not removing pressure on development.
• Migration is explained by push and pull factors, and classified by type (national/international), direction (inter-/intra-regional) and four streams (rural-rural, rural-urban, urban-urban, urban-rural).
• About 68.8 per cent of Indians lived in villages in 2011, but urban population (31.16 per cent) is growing faster, driven by industrialisation and rural-urban migration.
• The sex ratio fell from 972 in 1901 to 927 in 1991 and rose to 940 in 2011, while adolescents formed about 20.9 per cent of the population.

Test yourself

What was India's density of population in 2011, and how did it compare with 1951?

382 persons per sq km in 2011, up from 117 persons per sq km in 1951, a steady increase of more than 200 persons per sq km over 50 years.

Name the phase of India's population growth described as a "population explosion," and give its approximate annual growth rate.

Phase III, 1951-1981, with an average annual growth rate as high as 2.2 per cent, caused by a rapid fall in mortality alongside continuing high fertility.

What is the natural growth rate of a population?

It is the difference between the birth rate and the death rate, expressed per thousand persons in a year.

Give two push factors and two pull factors of migration.

Push factors include unemployment and natural disasters at the place of origin; pull factors include better employment opportunities and education at the destination.

What was the sex ratio of India in 1991 and in 2011?

927 females per thousand males in 1991, rising to 940 in 2011.

Name the four streams of migration.

Rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to urban, and urban to rural.

Name two states with a very high percentage of rural population and two states with a very low share of total population.

Himachal Pradesh and Bihar have high rural population shares; Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%) and Jammu & Kashmir (1.04%) have very low shares of total population.