Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition
Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition
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
iA) show that Uttar Pradesh has the highest
population followed by Maharashtra, Bihar and
West Bengal.
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Fig. 1.1 : India Distribution of Population
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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 Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai and
Jaipur have high concentration of population
Check from the table (AppendixiA) 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
Popula tion
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
water largely determines the pattern of the The data shown in Appendix (i)A give an
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 11,320 persons in the National Capital Territory
and central Indian States, Himalayas, some of of Delhi. Among the northern Indian States,
the north eastern and the western states. Bihar (1106), West Bengal (1028) and and Uttar
However, development of irrigation (Rajasthan), Pradesh (829) have higher densities, while
availability of mineral and energy resources Kerala (860) and Tamil Nadu (555) have higher
(Jharkhand) and development of transport densities among the peninsular Indian states.
network (Peninsular States) have resulted in States like Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,
moderate to high concentration of population Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha have moderate
in areas which were previously very thinly densities. The hill states of the Himalayan region
populated. and North eastern states of India (excluding
Among the socio-economic and historical Assam) have relatively low densities while the
factors of distribution of population, important Union Territories (excluding Andaman and
ones are evolution of settled agriculture and Nicobar islands) have very high densities of
agricultural development; pattern of human population (AppendixiA).
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 better
plains and coastal areas of India have remained insight into the human-land ratio in terms of
the regions of larger population concentration. pressure of population on total cultivable land,
Even though the uses of natural resources like the physiological and the agricultural densities
land and water in these regions have shown should be found out which are significant for
the sign of degradation, the concentration of a country like India having a large agricultural
population remains high because of an early population.
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Fig. 1.2 : India Density of Population
Activity: Construct a choropleth map to represent Density of population in India-2011 based on data given in
Appendix iA and compare that with the above map.
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assessing the crude birth and death rates, the
Physiological density = total population / induced components are explained by the
net cultivated area volume of inward and outward movement of
Agricultural density = total agricultural people in any given area. However, in the
population / net cultivable area present chapter, we will only discuss the
natural growth of Indias population.
Agricultural population includes cultivators The decadal and annual growth rates of
and agricultural labourers and their family
population in India are both very high and
members.
steadily increasing over time. The annual
growth rate of Indias population is 1.64 per
cent (2011).
With the help of data given in Appendix (ii), Calculate Population Doubling Time
the Physiological and Agricultural densities of
Population doubling time is the time taken
population of Indian States and Union Territories.
by any population to double itself at its
Compare them with density of population and see how
current annual growth rate.
are these different?
G rrowth
owth of P opula
Popula tion
opulation The growth rate of population in India over
Growth of population is the change in the the last one century has been caused by annual
number of people living in a particular area birth rate and death rate and rate of migration
between two points of time. Its rate is expressed and thereby shows different trends. There are
in percentage. Population growth has two four distinct phases of growth identified within
components namely; natural and induced. this period:
While the natural growth is analysed by
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Fig. 1.3 : India Growth of Population
Activity: Construct a choropleth map to represent Growth of population in India (2001-2011) based on data given in
Appendix iA and compare it with the above map.
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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.
Indias population, since in this Phase IV : In the post 1981 till present, the
period growth rate was very low, growth rate of countrys 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
(Appendixiii). 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 (Appendixiv) 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 Popula tion Gr
opulation owth
Growth
birth rate remained high in this
period leading to higher growth rate The growth rate of population during 1991-
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
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Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have all fallen into the overall development of our large youth
during 2001-2011 compared to 1991-2001, and adolescent population.
the fall being the lowest for Andhra Pradesh The National Youth Policy of Government
(3.5% percentage points) and highest for of India, launched in 2003, stresses on an all-
Maharashtra (6.7 percentage points). Tamil round improvement of the youth and
Nadu (3.9 percentage points) and Puducherry adolescents enabling them to shoulder
(7.1 percentage points) have registered some responsibility towards constructive
increase during 2001-2011 over the previous development of the country. It also aims at
decade. reinforcing the qualities of patriotism and
responsible citizenship.
The thrust of this policy is youth
empowerment in terms of their effective
participation in decision making and carrying
With the help of data given in Appendix i and iA, compare
the responsibility of an able leader. Special
the growth rate of population of different States/UTs
emphasis was given in empowering women and
between 1990-2001 and 2001-2011.
girl child to bring parity in the male-female
status. Moreover, deliberate efforts were made
Take the population growth data of the districts/selected to look into youth health, sports and recreation,
districts of your respective state for total male and female creativity and awareness about new innovations
population and represent them with the help of in the spheres of science and technology.
Composite Bar Graph. It appears from the above discussion that
the growth rate of population is widely variant
An important aspect of population growth over space and time in the country and also
in India is the growth of its adolescents. At highlights various social problems related to the
present the share of adolescents i.e., up to the growth of population. However, in order to have
age group of 10-19 years is about 20.9 per cent a better insight into the growth pattern of
(201 1), among which male adolescents population it is also necessary to look into the
constitute 52.7 per cent and female adolescents social composition of population.
constitute 47.3 per cent. The adolescent
population, though, regarded as the youthful Population Composition
opulation
population having high potentials, but at the Population composition is a distinct field of
same time they are quite vulnerable if not guided study within population geography with a vast
and channelised properly. There are many coverage of analysis of age and sex, place of
challenges for the society as far as these residence, ethnic characteristics, tribes,
adolescents are concerned, some of which are language, religion, marital status, literacy and
lower age at marriage, illiteracy particularly education, occupational characteristics, etc. In
female illiteracy, school dropouts, low intake of this section, the composition of Indian
nutrients, high rate of maternal mortality of population with respect to their rural-urban
adolescent mothers, high rates of HIV/AIDS characteristics, language, religion and pattern
infections, physical and mental disability or of occupation will be discussed.
retardedness, drug abuse and alcoholism, juvenile
delinquency and commitence of crimes, etc. Rural Urban Composition
In view of these, the Government of India Composition of population by their respective
has undertaken certain policies to impart places of residence is an important indicator of
proper education to the adolescent groups so social and economic characteristics. This becomes
that their talents are better channelised and even more significant for a country where about
properly utilised. The National Youth Policy is 68.8 per cent of its total population lives in village
one example which has been designed to look (2011).
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a considerable increase of urban population.
This indicates both development of urban areas
Compare the data given in Appendix (iv) and iv A in terms of socio-economic conditions and an
calculate the percentages of rural population of the increased rate of rural-urban migration. The
states in India and represent them cartographically on rural-urban migration is conspicuous in the
a map of India. case of urban areas along the main road links
and railroads in the North Indian Plains, the
Do you know that India has 640,867 industrial areas around Kolkata, Mumbai,
villages according to the Census 2011 out of Bengaluru Mysuru, Madurai Coimbatore,
which 597,608 (93.2 per cent) are inhabited Ahmedabad Surat, Delhi Kanpur and
villages? However, the distribution of rural Ludhiana Jalandhar. In the agriculturally
population is not uniform throughout the stagnant parts of the middle and lower Ganga
country. You might have noted that the states Plains, Telengana, non-irrigated Western
like Bihar and Sikkim have very high Rajasthan, remote hilly, tribal areas of north-
percentage of rural population. The states of east, along the flood prone areas of Peninsular
Goa and Maharashtra have only little over half India and along eastern part of Madhya
of their total population residing in villages. Pradesh, the degree of urbanisation has
The Union Territories, on the other hand, remained low.
have smaller proportion of rural population,
except Dadra and Nagar Haveli (53.38 per cent). Linguistic Composition
The size of villages also varies considerably. It
is less than 200 persons in the hill states of India is a land of linguistic diversity. According
north-eastern India, Western Rajasthan and to Grierson (Linguistic Survey of India, 1903
Rann of Kuchchh and as high as 17 thousand 1928) there were 179 languages and as many
persons in the states of Kerala and in parts of as 544 dialects in the country. In the context of
Maharashtra. A thorough examination of the modern India, there are about 22 scheduled
pattern of distribution of rural population of languages and a number of non-scheduled
India reveals that both at intra-State and inter- languages. See how many languages appear
State levels, the relative degree of urbanisation on a ten Rs note. Among the scheduled
and extent of rural-urban migration regulate languages, the speakers of Hindi have the
the concentration of rural population. highest percentage. The smallest language
You have noted that contrary to rural groups are Kashmiri and Sanskrit speakers.
population, the proportion of urban population However, it is noticed that the linguistic regions
(31.16 per cent) in India is quite low but it is in the country do not maintain a sharp and
showing a much faster rate of growth over the distinct boundary, rather they gradually merge
decades. The growth rate of urban population and overlap in their respective border zones.
has accelerated due to enhanced economic
development and improvement in health and Linguistic Classification
hygienic conditions. The speakers of major Indian languages
The distribution of urban population too, belong to four language families, which have
as in the case of total population, has a wide their sub-families and branches or groups.
variation throughout the country (Appendixiv). This can be better understood from Table 1.2.
Religious Composition
Compare the data of Appendix (iv) and iv A and identify Religion is one of the most dominant forces
the states/UTs with very high and very low proportion of affecting the cultural and political life of the most
urban population. of Indians. Since religion virtually permeates
into almost all the aspects of peoples family and
It is, however, noticed that in almost all community lives, it is important to study the
the states and Union Territories, there has been religious composition in detail.
Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition 9
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Table 1.2 : Classification of Modern Indian Languages
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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 moderate variation from about 39.6 per cent in
mostly in rural areas of the country. The main Goa to about 49.9 per cent in Daman and Diu.
concentration is observed along the Western The states with larger percentages of workers
coast around Goa, Kerala and also in the hill are Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh,
states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Arunachal
Chotanagpur area and Hills of Manipur. Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya.
Sikhs are mostly concentrated in relatively Among the Union Territories, Dadra and Nagar
small area of the country, particularly in the Haveli and Daman and Diu have higher
states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. participation rate. It is understood that, in the
Jains and Buddhists, the smallest religious context of a country like India, the work
groups in India have their concentration only participation rate tends to be higher in the areas
in selected areas of the country. Jains have of lower levels of economic development since
major concentration in the urban areas of number of manual workers are needed to
Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, while the perform the subsistence or near subsistence
Buddhists are concentrated mostly in economic activities.
Maharashtra. The other areas of Buddhist The occupational composition (see box)
majority are Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, of Indias population (which actually means
Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir, Tripura, and engagement of an individual in farming,
Lahul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh. manufacturing trade, services or any kind of
The other religions of India include professional activities) shows a large proportion
Zoroastrians, tribal and other indigenous faiths of primary sector workers compared to
and beliefs. These groups are concentrated in secondary and tertiary sectors. About 54.6 per
small pockets scattered throughout the country. cent of total working population are cultivators
and agricultural labourers, whereas only 3.8%
Composition of Working Population of workers are engaged in household industries
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 countrys 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
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The number of female workers is relatively
Occupational Categories high in primary sector, though in recent years
The 2001 Census has divided the working there has been some improvement in work
population of India into four major categories: participation of women in secondary and
tertiary sectors.
1. Cultivators It is important to note that the proportion
2. Agricultural Labourers of workers in agricultural sector in India has
3. Household Industrial Workers shown a decline over the last few decades (58.2%
4. Other Workers. in 2001 to 54.6% in 2011). Consequently, the
participation rate in secondary and tertiary sector
has registered an increase. This indicates a shift
of dependence of workers from farm-
Table 1.4 : Sectoral Composition of work force in India, 2011 based occupations to non-farm
based ones, indicating a sectoral shift
Categories Population in the economy of the country.
The spatial variation of work
Persons % to Male Female participation rate in different sectors
total
Workers
in the country (Appendixv and vA)
is very wide. For instance, the states
Primary 26,30,22,473 54.6 16,54,47,075 9,75,75,398 like Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland
have very large shares of cultivators.
Secondary 1,83,36,307 3.8 97,75,635 85,60,672
On the other hand states like Bihar,
Tertiary 20,03,84,531 41.6 15,66,43,220 4,37,41,311 Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal
and Madhya Pradesh have higher proportion of
agricultural labourers. The highly urbanised
areas like Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry
have a very large proportion of workers being
Prepare composite bar graphs, one for India and the engaged in other services. This indicates not only
other for your respective states showing the proportion availability of limited farming land, but also large
of male and female workers in agriculture, household scale urbanisation and industrialisation
industries and other sectors, and compare. requiring more workers in non-farm sectors.
EXERCISES
1. Choose the right answers of the followings from the given options.
(i) Indias population as per 2011 census is :
(a) 1028 million (c) 3287 million
(b) 3182 million (d) 1210 million
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(ii) Which one of the following states has the highest density of population in
India?
(a) West Bengal (c) Uttar Pradesh
(b) Kerala (d) Punjab
(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
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 Indias population.
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