The people are very important component of a

Unit I country. India is the second most populous

Chapter 1 country after China in the world with its total
population of 1,210 million (2011). India’s
population is larger than the total population
of North America, South America and Australia
put together. More often, it is argued that such
a large population invariably puts pressure
on its limited resources and is also responsible
for many socio-economic problems in the
country.

How do you perceive the idea of India? Is

POPULATION it simply a territory? Does this signify an
amalgam of people? Is it a territory
Distribution, Density, Growth inhabited by people living under certain
institutions of governance?
and Composition
In this chapter, we will discuss the
patterns of distribution, density, growth and
composition of India’s population.

Sources of Population Data

Population data are collected through
Census operation held every 10 years in our
country. The first population Census in India
was conducted in 1872 but its first complete
Census was conducted only in 1881.

Distribution of P
Distribution opula
Population
opulation
Examine Fig. 1.1 and try to describe the
patterns of spatial distribution of population
shown on it. It is clear that India has a highly
uneven pattern of population distribution. The
percentage shares of population of the states
and Union Territories in the country (Appendix)
show that Uttar Pradesh has the highest
population followed by Maharashtra, Bihar and
West Bengal.

Looking at the data in Appendix i, arrange the Indian

States and Union Territories according to their sizes
and population and find out :

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 Fig. 1.1 : India – Distribution of Population

2 India : People and Economy

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States/UTs of large size and large population history of human settlement and development
of transport network. On the other hand, the
States/UTs of large size but small population
urban regions of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
States/UTs of smaller size but larger population Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai and
Jaipur have high concentration of population
Check from the table (Appendix–iA) that U.P., due to industrial development and
Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra urbanisation drawing a large numbers of
Pradesh along with Tamil Nadu, Madhya
rural-urban migrants.
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat,
together account for about 76 per cent of the Density of P opula tion
Popula
opulation
total population of the country. On the other
hand, share of population is very small in the Density of population, is expressed as number
states like Jammu & Kashmir (1.04%), of persons per unit area. It helps in getting a
Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%) and Uttarakhand better understanding of the spatial distribution
(0.84%) inspite of theses states having fairly of population in relation to land. The density of
large geographical area. population in India (2011) is 382 persons per
Such an uneven spatial distribution of sq km. There has been a steady increase of more
population in India suggests a close relationship than 200 persons per sq km over the last 50
between population and physical, socio- years as the density of population increased
economic and historical factors. As far as the from 117 persons/ sq km in 1951 to 382
physical factors are concerned, it is clear that persons/sq km in 2011.
climate along with terrain and availability of
The data shown in Appendix (i) give an
water largely determines the pattern of the
population distribution. Consequently, we idea of spatial variation of population densities
observe that the North Indian Plains, deltas and in the country which ranges from as low as 17
Coastal Plains have higher proportion of persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to
population than the interior districts of southern 11,297 persons in the National Capital
and central Indian States, Himalayas, some of Territory of Delhi. Among the northern Indian
the north eastern and the western states. States, Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and
However, development of irrigation (Rajasthan), and Uttar Pradesh (828) have higher densities,
availability of mineral and energy resources while Kerala (859) and Tamil Nadu (555) have
(Jharkhand) and development of transport higher densities among the peninsular Indian
network (Peninsular States) have resulted in states. States like Assam, Gujarat, Andhra
moderate to high concentration of population Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha have
in areas which were previously very thinly moderate densities. The hill states of the
populated. Himalayan region and North eastern states of
Among the socio-economic and historical India (excluding Assam) have relatively low
factors of distribution of population, important densities while the Union Territories (excluding
ones are evolution of settled agriculture and Andaman and Nicobar islands) have very high
agricultural development; pattern of human densities of population (Appendix–i).
settlement; development of transport network, The density of population, as discussed
industrialisation and urbanisation. It is in the earlier paragraph, is a crude measure
observed that the regions falling in the river of human and land relationship. To get a
plains and coastal areas of India have remained better insight into the human-land ratio in
the regions of larger population concentration. terms of pressure of population on total
Even though the uses of natural resources like cultivable land, the physiological and the
land and water in these regions have shown agricultural densities should be found out
the sign of degradation, the concentration of which are significant for a country like India
population remains high because of an early having a large agricultural population.

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 3

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 Fig. 1.2 : India – Density of Population

4 India : People and Economy

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 Physiological density = total population / people in any given area. However, in the
net cultivated area present chapter, we will only discuss the
natural growth of India’s population.
Agricultural density = total agricultural The decadal and annual growth rates of
population / net cultivable area population in India are both very high and
Agricultural population includes cultivators steadily increasing over time. The annual
and agricultural labourers and their family growth rate of India’s population is 1.64 per
members. cent (2011).

Population Doubling Time

Gr owth of P
Growth opula
Popula tion
opulation Population doubling time is the time taken
by any population to double itself at its
Growth of population is the change in the current annual growth rate.
number of people living in a particular area
between two points of time. Its rate is expressed
in percentage. Population growth has two The growth rate of population in India over
components namely; natural and induced. the last one century has been caused by
While the natural growth is analysed by annual birth rate and death rate and rate of
assessing the crude birth and death rates, the migration and thereby shows different trends.
induced components are explained by the There are four distinct phases of growth
volume of inward and outward movement of identified within this period:

Table 1.1 : Decadal Growth Rates in India, 1901-2011

Census Total Population Growth Rate*

Years Absolute Number % of Growth

1901 238396327 ------------ ------------
1911 252093390 (+) 13697063 (+) 5.75
1921 251321213 (-) 772117 (-) 0.31
1931 278977238 (+) 27656025 (+) 11.60
1941 318660580 (+) 39683342 (+) 14.22
1951 361088090 (+) 42420485 (+) 13.31
1961 439234771 (+) 77682873 (+) 21.51
1971 548159652 (+) 108924881 (+) 24.80
1981 683329097 (+) 135169445 (+) 24.66
1991 846302688 (+) 162973591 (+) 23.85
2001 1028610328 (+) 182307640 (+) 21.54
2011** 1210193422 (+) 181583094 (+) 17.64
p 2 -p1
* Decadal growth rate: g = ×100
p1
where P1 = population of the base year
P2 = population of the present year
** Source : Census of India, 2011(Provisional)

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 5

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 Fig. 1.3 : India – Growth of Population

6 India : People and Economy

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Phase I : The period from 1901-1921 is Tibetans, Bangladeshis, Nepalies
referred to as a period of stagnant and even people from Pakistan
or stationary phase of growth of contributed to the high growth rate.
India’s population, since in this Phase IV : In the post 1981 till present, the
period growth rate was very low, growth rate of country’s population
even recording a negative growth though remained high, has started
rate during 1911-1921. Both the slowing down gradually (Table 1.1).
birth rate and death rate were high A downward trend of crude birth
keeping the rate of increase low rate is held responsible for such a
(Appendix–iii). Poor health and population growth. This was, in
medical services, illiteracy of people turn, affected by an increase in the
at large and inefficient distribution mean age at marriage, improved
system of food and other basic quality of life particularly education
necessities were largely responsible of females in the country.
for a high birth and death rates in The growth rate of population is, however,
this period. still high in the country, and it has been
Phase II : The decades 1921-1951 are projected by World Development Report that
referred to as the period of steady population of India will touch 1,350 million by
population growth. An overall 2025.
improvement in health and The analysis done so far shows the average
sanitation throughout the country growth rate, but the country also has wide
brought down the mortality rate. At variation (Appendix–iv) in growth rates from one
the same time better transport and area to another which is discussed below.
communication system improved R e gional Varia
Varia tion in
ariation
distribution system. The crude P opula tion Gr
opulation owth
Growth
birth rate remained high in this
The growth rate of population during 1991-
period leading to higher growth rate
2001 in Indian States and Union Territories
than the previous phase. This is
shows very obvious pattern.
impressive at the backdrop of Great
The States like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil
Economic Depression, 1920s and
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry,
World War II.
and Goa show a low rate of growth not exceeding
Phase III : The decades 1951-1981 are
20 per cent over the decade. Kerala registered
referred to as the period of
the lowest growth rate (9.4) not only in this group
population explosion in India, of states but also in the country as a whole.
which was caused by a rapid fall A continuous belt of states from west to
in the mortality rate but a high east in the north-west, north, and north central
fertility rate of population in the parts of the country has relatively high growth
country. The average annual rate than the southern states. It is in this belt
growth rate was as high as 2.2 per comprising Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
cent. It is in this period, after the Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Independence, that developmental Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, West Bengal,
activities were introduced through Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, the growth
a centralised planning process and rate on the average remained 20-25 per cent.
economy started showing up During 2001-2011, the growth rates of
ensuring the improvement of living almost all States and Union Territories have
condition of people at large. registered a lower figure compared to the
Consequently, there was a high previous decade, namely, 1991-2001. The
natural increase and higher growth percentage decadal growth rates of the six most
rate. Besides, increased populous States, namely, Uttar Pradesh,
international migration bringing in Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 7

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Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have all fallen The National Youth Policy (NYP–2014)
during 2001-2011 compared to 1991-2001, launched in February 2014 proposes a holistic
the fall being the lowest for Andhra Pradesh ‘vision’ for the youth of India, which is “To
(3.5% percentage points) and highest for empower the youth of the country to achieve
Maharashtra (6.7 percentage points). Tamil
their full potential, and through them enable
Nadu (3.9 percentage points) and Puducherry
India to find its rightful place in the community
(7.1 percentage points) have registered some
increase during 2001-2011 over the previous of nations”. The N YP–2014 has defined
decade. ‘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 to provide an
Take the population growth data of the districts/selected umbrella framework to all skilling activities
districts of your respective state for total male and female
being carried out within the country, and to
population and represent them with the help of
align these to common standards and link
Composite Bar Graph.
skilling with demand centres.
An important aspect of population growth It appears from the above discussion that
in India is the growth of its adolescents. At the growth rate of population is widely variant
present the share of adolescents i.e., up to the over space and time in the country and also
age group of 10-19 years is about 20.9 per cent highlights various social problems related to
(2011), among which male adolescents the growth of population. However, in order
constitute 52.7 per cent and female adolescents to have a better insight into the growth pattern
constitute 47.3 per cent. The adolescent of population it is also necessary to look into
population, though, regarded as the youthful the social composition of population.
population having high potentials, but at the tion Composition
opulation
Popula
same time they are quite vulnerable if not guided
Population composition is a distinct field of
and channelised properly. There are many
study within population geography with a vast
challenges for the society as far as these
adolescents are concerned, some of which are coverage of analysis of age and sex, place of
lower age at marriage, illiteracy – particularly residence, ethnic characteristics, tribes,
female illiteracy, school dropouts, low intake of language, religion, marital status, literacy and
nutrients, high rate of maternal mortality of education, occupational characteristics, etc.
adolescent mothers, high rate of HIV and AIDS In this section, the composition of Indian
infections, physical and mental disability or population with respect to their rural-urban
retardedness, drug abuse and alcoholism, juvenile characteristics, language, religion and pattern
delinquency and commitence of crimes, etc. of occupation will be discussed.
In view of these, the Government of India
Rural – Urban Composition
has undertaken certain policies to impart
proper education to the adolescent groups so Composition of population by their respective
that their talents are better channelised and places of residence is an important indicator of
properly utilised. The National Youth Policy is social and economic characteristics. This becomes
one example which has been designed to look even more significant for a country where about
into the overall development of our large youth 68.8 per cent of its total population lives in village
and adolescent population. (2011).

8 India : People and Economy

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 Do you know that India has 640,867 villages rural-urban migration is conspicuous in the
according to the Census 2011 out of which case of urban areas along the main road links
597,608 (93.2 per cent) are inhabited villages? and railroads in the North Indian Plains, the
However, the distribution of rural population industrial areas around Kolkata, Mumbai,
is not uniform throughout the country. You Bengaluru – Mysuru, Madurai – Coimbatore,
might have noted that the states like Himachal Ahmedabad – Surat, Delhi – Kanpur and
Pradesh and Bihar have very high percentage Ludhiana – Jalandhar. In the agriculturally
of rural population. The states of Goa and stagnant parts of the middle and lower Ganga
Mizoram have only little over half of their total Plains, Telengana, non-irrigated Western
population residing in villages. Rajasthan, remote hilly, tribal areas of north-
The Union Territories, on the other hand, east, along the flood prone areas of Peninsular
have smaller proportion of rural population, India and along eastern part of Madhya
except Dadra and Nagar Haveli (53.38 per Pradesh, the degree of urbanisation has
cent). The size of villages also varies remained low.
considerably. It is less than 200 persons in
the hill states of north-eastern India, Western Linguistic Composition
Rajasthan and Rann of Kuchchh and as high India is a land of linguistic diversity. According
as 17 thousand persons in the states of Kerala to Grierson (Linguistic Survey of India, 1903 –
and in parts of Maharashtra. A thorough 1928), there were 179 languages and as many
examination of the pattern of distribution of as 544 dialects in the country. In the context of
rural population of India reveals that both at modern India, there are about 22 scheduled
intra-State and inter-State levels, the relative languages and a number of non-scheduled
degree of urbanisation and extent of rural- languages.
urban migration regulate the concentration of
rural population.
You have noted that contrary to rural See how many languages appear on a Rs 10 note.
population, the proportion of urban
population (31.16 per cent) in India is quite Among the scheduled languages, the
low but it is showing a much faster rate of speakers of Hindi have the highest percentage.
The smallest language groups are Sanskrit,
growth over the decades. The growth rate of
Bodo and Manipuri speakers (2011). However,
urban population has accelerated due to
it is noticed that the linguistic regions in the
enhanced economic development and country do not have a sharp and distinct
improvement in health and hygienic conditions. boundary, rather they gradually merge and
The distribution of urban population overlap in their respective frontier zones.
too, as in the case of total population, has
a wide variation throughout the country Linguistic Classification
(Appendix–iii).
The speakers of major Indian languages
belong to four language families, which have
Compare the data of Appendix (iii) and identify the their sub-families and branches or groups.
states/UTs with very high and very low proportion This can be better understood from Table 1.2.
of urban population.
Religious Composition
It is, however, noticed that in almost all Religion is one of the most dominant forces
the states and Union Territories, there has been affecting the cultural and political life of the
a considerable increase of urban population. majority of Indians. Since religion virtually
This indicates both development of urban areas permeates into almost all the aspects of people’s
in terms of socio-economic conditions and an family and community lives, it is important to
increased rate of rural-urban migration. The study the religious composition in detail.

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 9

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 Table 1.2 : Classification of Modern Indian Languages

Family Sub-Family Branch/Group Speech Areas

Austro-Asiatic Mon-Khmer Meghalaya, Nicobar Islands

Austric
(Nishada) Munda West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam,
1.38% Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra
Austro- Nesian Outside India
South-Dravidian Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala

Dravidian Central Dravidian Andhra Pradesh, M.P., Orissa,

(Dravida) Maharashtra
20%
North Dravidian Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal,
Madhya Pradesh

Tibeto - Myanmari Tibeto-Himalayan Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,

Sikkim
Sino-Tibetan
(Kirata) North Assam Arunachal Pradesh
0.85%
Siamese-Chinese Assam- Myanmari Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram,
Tripura, Meghalaya

Indo-Aryan Iranian Outside India

Indo - Dardic Jammu & Kashmir
European
(Aryan) 73% Indo-Aryan Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal
Pradesh, U.P., Rajasthan, Haryana, M.P.,
Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam,
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa.
Source : Ahmed, A. (1999) : Social Geography, Rawat Publication, New Delhi

Table 1.3 : Religious Communities of India, 2011

Look at Table 1.2 and prepare a pie diagram of linguistic Religious Group 2011
composition of India showing the sectoral shares of Population % of
each linguistic group. (in million) Total
Hindus 966.3 79.8
Or
Muslims 172.2 14.2
Christians 27.8 2.3
Prepare a qualitative symbol map of India showing the
distribution of different linguistic groups in the country. Sikhs 20.8 1.7
Buddhists 8.4 0.7
The spatial distribution of religious Jains 4.5 0.4
communities in the country (Appendix–v) shows Other Religions and
that there are certain states and districts having Persuasions (ORP) 7.9 0.7
large numerical strength of one religion, while
Religion Not Stated 2.9 0.2
the same may be very negligibly represented in
other states. Source : Census of India, 2011
Hindus are distributed as a major group in Muslims, the largest religious minority, are
many states (ranging from 70 - 90 per cent and concentrated in Jammu & Kashmir, certain
above) except the districts of states along Indo- districts of West Bengal and Kerala, many
Bangladesh border, Indo-Pak border, Jammu & districts of Uttar Pradesh , in and around Delhi
Kashmir, Hill States of North-East and in scattered and in Lakshadweep. They form majority in
areas of Deccan Plateau and Ganga Plain. Kashmir valley and Lakshadweep.

10 India : People and Economy

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 Standard Census Definition
Religion and Landscape
Main Worker is a person who works for
Formal expression of religions on atleast 183 days ( or six months) in a year.
landscape is manifested through sacred
structures, use of cemetries and Marginal Worker is a person who works for
assemblages of plants and animals, groves less than 183 days ( or six months) in a year.
of trees for religious purposes. Sacred
structures are widely distributed throughout per cent (2011) leaving a vast majority of about
the country. These may range from 60 per cent as non-workers. This indicates an
inconspicuous village shrines to large Hindu economic status in which there is a larger
temples, monumental masjids or ornately proportion of dependent population, further
designed cathedrals in large metropolitan indicating possible existence of large number of
cities. These temples, masjids, gurudwaras, unemployed or under employed people.
monastries and churches differ in size,
form, space – use and density, while
What is work participation rate?
attributing a special dimension to the total
landscape of the area. The proportion of working population, of
the states and Union Territories show a
The Christian population is distributed variation from about 29.1 per cent in
mostly in rural areas of the country. The main Lakshdweep to about 51.9 per cent in Himachal
concentration is observed along the Western Pradesh. The states with larger percentages of
coast around Goa, Kerala and also in the hill workers are Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim,
states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Chotanagpur area and Hills of Manipur. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and
Sikhs are mostly concentrated in relatively Meghalaya. Among the Union Territories, Dadra
small area of the country, particularly in the and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have
states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. higher participation rate. It is understood that,
Jains and Buddhists, the smallest religious in the context of a country like India, the work
participation rate tends to be higher in the areas
groups in India have their concentration only
of lower levels of economic development since
in selected areas of the country. Jains have
number of manual workers are needed to
major concentration in the urban areas of
perform the subsistence or near subsistence
Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, while the
economic activities.
Buddhists are concentrated mostly in
The occupational composition (see box)
Maharashtra. The other areas of Buddhist
of India’s population (which actually means
majority are Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh,
engagement of an individual in farming,
Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir, Tripura, and
manufacturing, trade, services or any kind of
Lahul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh.
professional activities) show a large proportion
The other religions of India include
of primary sector workers compared to
Zoroastrians, tribal and other indigenous faiths
secondary and tertiary sectors. About 54.6 per
and beliefs. These groups are concentrated in cent of total working population are cultivators
small pockets scattered throughout the country. and agricultural labourers, whereas only 3.8%
of workers are engaged in household industries
Composition of Working Population
and 41.6 % are other workers including non-
The population of India according to their household industries, trade, commerce,
economic status is divided into three groups, construction and repair and other services. As
namely; main workers, marginal workers and far as the occupation of country’s male and
non-workers. female population is concerned, male workers
It is observed that in India, the proportion out-number female workers in all the three
of workers (both main and marginal) is only 39.8 sectors (Fig.1.4 and Table 1.4).
Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 11

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 Fig. 1.4 : India – Occupational Structure, 2011

Promoting Gender Sensitivity through All efforts need to be made to address the
‘Beti Bachao–Beti Padhao’ Social denial of opportunities of education,
Campaign employment, political representation, low
wages for similar types of work, disregard to
The division of the society into male, female their entitlement to live a dignified life, etc. A
and transgender is believed to be natural society, which fails to acknowledge and take
and biological. But, in reality, there are effective measures to remove such
social constructs and roles assigned to discriminations, cannot be treated as a civilised
individuals which are reinforced by social one. The Government of India has duly
institutions. Consequently, these biological acknowleged the adverse impacts of these
differences become the basis of social discriminations and launched a nationwide
differentiations, discriminations and campaign called ‘Beti Bachao – Beti Padhao’.
exclusions. The exclusion of over half of
the population becomes a serious
handicap to any developing and civilised Occupational Categories
society. It is a global challenge, which has The 2011 Census has divided the working
been acknowledged by the UNDP when it population of India into four major categories:
mentioned that, “If development is not 1. Cultivators
engendered it is endangered” (HDR UNDP
2. Agricultural Labourers
1995). Discrimination, in general, and
gender discrimination, in particular, is a 3. Household Industrial Workers
crime against humanity. 4. Other Workers.

Table 1.4 : Sectoral Composition of workforce in India, 2011

Categories Population

Persons % to Male Female

total
Workers

Primary 26,30,22,473 54.6 16,54,47,075 9,75,75,398

Secondary 1,83,36,307 3.8 97,75,635 85,60,672
Tertiary 20,03,84,531 41.6 15,66,43,220 4,37,41,311

12 India : People and Economy

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 increase. This indicates a shift of dependence
of workers from farm-based occupations to
non-farm based ones, indicating a sectoral shift
Prepare composite bar graphs, one for India and the in the economy of the country.
other for your respective states showing the proportion The spatial variation of work participation
of male and female workers in agriculture, household rate in different sectors in the country
industries and other sectors, and compare. (Appendix–v and vA) is very wide. For instance,
the states like Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland
The number of female workers is relatively have very large shares of cultivators. On the
high in primary sector, though in recent years other hand states like Bihar, Andhra Pradesh,
there has been some improvement in work Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal
participation of women in secondary and and Madhya Pradesh have higher proportion
tertiary sectors. of agricultural labourers. The highly urbanised
It is important to note that the proportion areas like Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry
of workers in agricultural sector in India has have a very large proportion of workers being
shown a decline over the last few decades engaged in other services. This indicates not
(58.2% in 2001 to 54.6% in 2011). only availability of limited farming land, but also
Consequently, the participation rate in large scale urbanisation and industrialisation
secondary and tertiary sector has registered an requiring more workers in non-farm sectors.

EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the followings from the given options.
(i) India’s population as per 2011 census is :
(a) 1028 million (c) 3287 million
(b) 3182 million (d) 1210 million
(ii) Which one of the following states has the highest density of population in
India?
(a) West Bengal (c) Uttar Pradesh
(b) Kerala (d) Bihar
(iii) Which one of the following states has the highest proportion of urban
population in India according to 2011 Census?
(a) Tamil Nadu (c) Kerala
(b) Maharashtra (d) Goa
(iv) Which one of the following is the largest linguistic group of India?
(a) Sino – Tibetan (c) Austric
(b) Indo – Aryan (d) Dravidian

Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 13

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 2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Very hot and dry and very cold and wet regions of India have low density
of population. In this light, explain the role of climate on the distribution
of population.
(ii) Which states have large rural population in India? Give one reason for
such large rural population.
(iii) Why do some states of India have higher rates of work participation than
others?
(iv) ‘The agricultural sector has the largest share of Indian workers.’ – Explain.
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Discuss the spatial pattern of density of population in India.
(ii) Give an account of the occupational structure of India’s population.

14 India : People and Economy

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