Introduction
• People make and use resources. They are also considered as resources having different quality.
• Population (total number of persons inhabiting a particular place like city, state, country etc.) is thecentral elementin social studies. It is the point of reference from which all other elements are observed.
• Human beings are producers as well as consumers of the resources so information about population of a country such as their size, distribution are important.
• Acensusis an official enumeration of population done periodically. In India the first census was held in the year 1872.
• Thecensus of Indiaprovides us with information regarding the population of our country. The data provided by the census cover below three major questions about the population:
→Population size and distribution
→ Population growth and processes of population change
→ Characteristics or qualities of the population
Size and distribution
• As per March 2001,India’s population stood at1,028 million, which account for16.7 percentof the world’s population.
• According to the data,Uttar Pradesh is themost populous state of Indiawith a populationsize of166 million, which account for16 percentof total India's population.
• Sikkim's population - 0.5 million (5 lakhs) while Lakshadweephas 60 thousand people.
• Thefive statesUttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh. Rajasthanholds almost half of Indian population(48.8%).
India’s Population Distribution by Density
•Population densityis calculated as the number of persons per unit area.
• The population density of India in the year 2001 was324 persons per sq kmmaking it one of the most densely populated countries of the world.
• Densities vary from904 persons per sq km in West Bengalto only13 persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Thereason for scarce(thinly distributed)populationin some states such as Meghalaya, Orissaetc. arerugged terrain and unfavourable climatic conditions.
• Hilly, dissected and rocky nature of the terrain, moderate to low rainfall, shallow and less fertile soils have influenced population inAssam and most of the Peninsular states.
• The Northern Plains and Kerala in the south have high to very high population densities because of the flat plains with fertile soils and abundant rainfall.
Population Growth
•Population Growthrefers to the change in the number of inhabitants of a country or territory during a specific period of time, say during the last ten years.
• The change can be expressed in two ways
→ in terms of absolute numbers
→in terms of percentage change per year
• Theabsolute numberis calculated by simply subtracting the earlier population (e.g. that of 1991) from the later population (e.g. that of 2001). It is referred to as theabsolute increase.
•The rate of population is studied in per cent per annum, e.g. a rate of increase of 2 per cent per annum means that in a given year, there was an increase of two persons for every 100 persons in the base population. This is referred to as theannual growth rate.
• India’s population has been steadily increasing from361 million in 1951 to 1028 million in 2001.
• Since 1981, however, the rate of growth started declining gradually as birth rates declined rapidly. But India has a very large population so when a low annual rate is applied to a very large population, it yields a large absolute increase.
• At this growth rate, India may overtake China in 2045 to become the most populous country in the world.
Processes of Population Change/Growth
• There are three main processes of change of population:birth rates, death rates and migration.
•Birth rateis the number of live births per thousand persons in a year. In India, birth rates have always been higher than death rates.
•Death rateis the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year. In India, there is rapid decline in death rates which is the main cause ofgrowth of the Indian population.
• Till 1980, high birth rates and declining death rates resulted in higher rate of population growth but since 1981, birth rates have also started declining gradually, resulting in a gradual decline in the rate of population growth.
•Migrationis the movement of people across regions and territories. This can be internal (within the country) or international (between the countries).
•Internal migrationdoes not change the size of the population, but changes the distribution of population within the nation.
• In India, most migrations have been fromrural to urban areasbecause of adverse conditions of poverty and unemployment in the rural areas and increased employment opportunities and better living conditions in city.
•Effects of Migrations:
→ It changes the population size.
→ It also changes the population composition of urban and rural populations in terms of age and sex composition.
• In India, the rural-urban migration has resulted in a steady increase in the percentage of populationin cities and towns.
Age Composition
• Theage compositionof a population refers to the number of people in different age groups in a country.
• The number and percentage of a population found within the children, working age and aged groups are notable determinants of the population’s social and economic structure.
• Population of country can be grouped into three categories:
→ Children (below 15 years): economically unproductive, need to be provided with food, clothing, education and medical care. Comprises 34.4% of total India's population.
→ Working Age (15-59 years): economically productive and biologically reproductive. Considered as working population.Comprises 6.9% of total India's population.
→ Aged (Above 59 years): can be economically productive though they may have retired. May be workingbut they are not available for employment through recruitment. Comprises 58.7% of total India's population.
Sex Ratio
•Sex ratiois defined as the number of females per 1000 males in the population.
•Importance:measuring the extent of equality between males and females in a society at a given time. In India, sex ratio has always remained unfavourable to females.
• Census year with Sex ratio:
1951 / 956
1961 / 951
1971 / 930
1981 / 934
1991 / 929
2001 / 933
Literacy rates
• According to the Census of 2001, a person aged 7 years. and above who can read and write with understanding in any language, is treated asliterate. Low levels of literacy are a serious obstacle for economic improvement.
• Theliteracy rate in the countryas per the Census of 2001 is 64.84 per cent; 75.26 per cent for males and 53.67 percent for females.
Occupational Structure
• The distribution of the population according to different types of occupation is referred to as theoccupational structure.
• Occupations are generally classified into three categories:
→ Primary activities (related to land): It include agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, fishing, mining and quarrying etc.
→ Secondary activities (related to industry): It include manufacturing industry, building and construction work etc.
→ Tertiary activities (related to services): include transport, communications, commerce, administration and other services.
•Developed nationshave a high proportion of people in secondary, and tertiary activities whiledeveloping nationshave a higher proportion of their workforce engaged in primary activities.
•In India, about 64 percent of the population is engaged only in agriculture. 13 percent aredependent on secondary and 20 percent are on tertiary sectors.
• In recent times, people are moving towards secondary and tertiary sectors because of growing industrialisation and urbanisation in recent times.
Health
•Healthis an important component of population composition, which affects the process of development.
• There has been a significant improvement in health conditions in India.Death rateshave declined from 25 per 1000 population in 1951 to 8.1 per 1000 in 2001 and life expectancy at birth has increased from 36.7 years in 1951 to 64.6 years in 2001.
• The improvement is due to:
→ Improvement in public health
→ Prevention of infectious diseases
→ Application of modern medical practices in diagnosis and treatment of ailments.
• Health is still a major concern for India because:
→ The per capita calorie consumption is much below the recommended levels and malnutrition afflicts a large percentage of our population.
→ Safe drinking water and basic sanitation amenities are available to only one- third of the rural population.
Adolescent Population
• The age-group of 10 to 19 years are considered asAdolescent Population. It constitutes one-fifth of the total population of India.
• They are mostimportant future resourcesfor any country. Nutrition requirements of adolescents are higher than those of a normal child or adult.
• In India, the diet available to adolescents is inadequate in all nutrients. A large number of adolescent girls suffer fromanaemia (deficiency of red blood cells or haemoglobin)
• The awareness can be improved through the spread of literacy and education among adolescent girls.
National Population Policy
• The Government of India initiated the comprehensive Family Planning Programme in 1952 for improving individual health and welfare.
• It sought to promote responsible and planned parenthood on a voluntary basis.
•National Population Policy (NPP) 2000is the peak ofyears of planned efforts.
What NPP aims at?
→ It provides a policy framework for imparting free and compulsory school education up to 14 years of age,
→ Reducing infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1000 live births
→ Achieving universal immunisation of children against all vaccine-preventable diseases,
→ Promoting delayed marriage for girls
→ Making family welfare a people-centered programme.
Relation between NPP 2000 and Adolescents
•NPP 2000identified adolescents as one of the major sections of the population that need greater attention.
• Besides nutritional requirements, the policy put greater emphasis on other important needs of adolescents including protection from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STD).
• The programmes started by NPP 2000 for adolescents aims at:
→ Encouraging delayed marriage and child-bearing.
→ Education of adolescents about the risks of unprotected sex.
→ Making contraceptive services accessible and affordable.
→ Providing food supplements, nutritional services.
→ Strengthening legal measures to prevent child marriage.
Do you know from chapter
• OnlyBangladesh and Japanhave higher average population densities than India.
•Keralahas a sex ratio of 1058 females per 1000 males,Pondicherryhas 1001 females for every 1000 males, whileDelhihas only 821 females per 1000 males andHaryanahas just 861.
Question & Answer
Q1. Why is the rate of population growth in India declining since 1981?
Ans: The rate of population growth in India is declining since 1981 because:
(a) The family planning programme initiated by the government made a great impact on the mindset of the people.
(b) Educational programmes have improved the literacy rate helping in increasing the awareness about the benefits of smaller family size.
(c) Parents became aware and wanted to give better quality of life to their children, i.e. good education, food, clothing, health, etc
Q2. Discuss the major components of population growth.
Ans: Major components of population growth are:
(a) Birth rate
(b) Death rate
(c) Migration
A higher birth rate, with a lower death rate leads to population growth. International migration can lead to population growth.
Q3. Define age structure, death rate and birth rate.
Ans: Age Structure: Number of people in different age groups in country is called age structure of the population. Population of a nation is generally grouped into three broad categories:
(a) Children (Below 15 years of age): Economically unproductive and needs to be provided with the necessities of life (food, cloth, education, etc.)
(b) Working age (15 – 59 years): Economically and biologically productive
(c) Aged (Above 59 years of age): They can be economically productive even after retirement.
Death Rate: The number of deaths per 1000 persons is called death rate.
Birth Rate: The number of live births per 1000 persons is called birth rate.
Q4. How is migration a determinant factor of population change?
Ans: Movement of people from one place to another; in search of livelihood is called migration. Migration can be classified into two:
(a) Migration within the country is called internal migration.
(b) Migration between two countries is called international migration.
Internal migration has no change on population size but it changes the population composition of a particular area. International migration can lead to a growth or degrowth in population; depending on the degree of immigration and emigration.
In India, Poverty and lack of employment opportunities in rural areas work as 'push' factors which result in migration to urban areas. Better employment opportunities in urban areas work as 'pull' factors for migration. Due to increased migration towards urban areas, the share of urban population has increased from 17.29% in 1951 to 27.78% in 2001.
Q5. Distinguish between population growth and population change.
Ans:
Q6. What is the relation between occupational structure and development?
Ans: Occupational structure has got a great impact on the development of any country. In India more than 60% of the population is engaged in the agricultural activities and thus, are still dependent on the primary sector for employment, which is one of the reasons for lack of development in India. The developed nations suggest that when a greater portion of population engages in secondary and tertiary activities, it leads to great development.
Q7. What are the advantages of having a healthy population?
Ans: It is rightly said, a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Human resource is the most important resource for the development of a country. A healthy population helps in building a productive workforce for the country. If the health of the population is properly looked after, people can put in more number of working hours and thus, the production level of the country can be increased. Even the non-productive age group needs to be healthy to reduce the burden of healthcare. Healthy children would grow into healthy adults and would be able to contribute better in the economy. Healthy elders would mean less drain on the resources.
Q8. What are the significant features of the National Population Policy 2000?
Ans: The new national population policy of 2000 was announced by the Government of India, its main features are:
(a) Redress the unmet needs for basic reproductive and child health services, supplies and infrastructure.
(b) Free and compulsory school education up to age 14, for both boys and girls.
(c) Reduce infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1000 live births.
(d) Reduce maternal mortality ratio to below 100 per 100,000 live births.
(e) Achieve universal immunization of children against all vaccine preventable diseases.
(f) Promote delayed marriage for girls, not earlier than age 18 and preferably after 20 years of age.
(g) Achieve 80 per cent institutional deliveries and 100 percent deliveries by trained persons.
(h) Making family welfare a people centered programme.
(i) Preventing and controlling transmissible diseases.