NCERT Textbook - Population : Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition | Geography for UPSC CSE PDF Download

 Page 1


Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I
Chapter 1
POPULATION
Distribution, Density, Growth
and Composition
The people are very important component of a
country. India is the second most populous
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
it simply a territory? Does this signify an
amalgam of people? Is it a territory
inhabited by people living under certain
institutions of governance?
In this chapter, we will discuss the
patterns of distribution, density, growth and
composition of India’s population.
Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data 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.
Distrib Distrib Distrib Distrib Distribution of ution of ution of ution of ution of P P P P Popula opula opula opula opulation tion tion tion tion
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 :
2024-25
Page 2


Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I
Chapter 1
POPULATION
Distribution, Density, Growth
and Composition
The people are very important component of a
country. India is the second most populous
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
it simply a territory? Does this signify an
amalgam of people? Is it a territory
inhabited by people living under certain
institutions of governance?
In this chapter, we will discuss the
patterns of distribution, density, growth and
composition of India’s population.
Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data 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.
Distrib Distrib Distrib Distrib Distribution of ution of ution of ution of ution of P P P P Popula opula opula opula opulation tion tion tion tion
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 :
2024-25
2 India : People and Economy
Fig. 1.1 : India – Distribution of Population
2024-25
Page 3


Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I
Chapter 1
POPULATION
Distribution, Density, Growth
and Composition
The people are very important component of a
country. India is the second most populous
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
it simply a territory? Does this signify an
amalgam of people? Is it a territory
inhabited by people living under certain
institutions of governance?
In this chapter, we will discuss the
patterns of distribution, density, growth and
composition of India’s population.
Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data 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.
Distrib Distrib Distrib Distrib Distribution of ution of ution of ution of ution of P P P P Popula opula opula opula opulation tion tion tion tion
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 :
2024-25
2 India : People and Economy
Fig. 1.1 : India – Distribution of Population
2024-25
Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition     3
States/UTs of large size and large population
States/UTs of large size but small population
States/UTs of smaller size but larger population
Check from the table (Appendix–iA) that U.P.,
Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra
Pradesh along with 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, share of population is very small in the
states like Jammu & Kashmir (1.04%),
Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%) and Uttarakhand
(0.84%) inspite of theses  states having fairly
large geographical area.
Such an uneven spatial distribution of
population in India suggests a close relationship
between population and physical, socio-
economic and historical factors. As far as the
physical factors are concerned, it is clear that
climate along with terrain and availability of
water largely determines the pattern of the
population distribution. Consequently, we
observe that the North Indian Plains, deltas and
Coastal Plains have higher proportion of
population than the interior districts of southern
and central Indian States, Himalayas, some of
the north eastern and the western states.
However, development of irrigation (Rajasthan),
availability of mineral and energy resources
(Jharkhand) and development of transport
network (Peninsular States) have resulted in
moderate to high concentration of population
in areas which were previously very thinly
populated.
Among the socio-economic and historical
factors of distribution of population, important
ones are evolution of settled agriculture and
agricultural development; pattern of human
settlement; development of transport network,
industrialisation and urbanisation. It is
observed that the regions falling in the river
plains and coastal areas of India have remained
the regions of larger  population concentration.
Even though the uses of natural resources like
land and water in these regions have shown
the sign of degradation, the concentration of
population remains high because of an early
history of human settlement and development
of transport network. On the other hand, the
urban regions of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai and
Jaipur have high concentration of population
due to industrial development and
urbanisation drawing a large numbers of
rural-urban migrants.
Density of Density of Density of Density of Density of P P P P Popula opula opula opula opulation tion tion tion tion
Density of population, is expressed as number
of persons per unit area. It helps in getting a
better understanding of the spatial distribution
of population in relation to land. The density of
population in India (2011) is 382 persons per
sq km. There has been a steady increase of more
than 200 persons per sq km over the last 50
years as the density of population increased
from 117 persons/ sq km in 1951 to 382
persons/sq km in 2011.
The data shown in Appendix (i) give an
idea of spatial variation of population densities
in the country which ranges from as low as 17
persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to
11,297 persons in the National Capital
Territory of Delhi. Among the northern Indian
States, Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and
and Uttar Pradesh (828) have higher densities,
while Kerala (859) and Tamil Nadu (555) have
higher densities among the peninsular Indian
states. States like Assam, Gujarat, Andhra
Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha have
moderate densities. The hill states of the
Himalayan region and North eastern states of
India (excluding Assam) have relatively low
densities while the Union Territories (excluding
Andaman and Nicobar islands) have very high
densities of population (Appendix–i).
The density of population, as discussed
in the earlier paragraph, is a crude measure
of human and land relationship. To get a
better insight into the human-land ratio in
terms of  pressure of population on total
cultivable land, the physiological and the
agricultural densities should be found out
which are significant for a country like India
having a large agricultural population.
2024-25
Page 4


Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I
Chapter 1
POPULATION
Distribution, Density, Growth
and Composition
The people are very important component of a
country. India is the second most populous
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
it simply a territory? Does this signify an
amalgam of people? Is it a territory
inhabited by people living under certain
institutions of governance?
In this chapter, we will discuss the
patterns of distribution, density, growth and
composition of India’s population.
Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data 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.
Distrib Distrib Distrib Distrib Distribution of ution of ution of ution of ution of P P P P Popula opula opula opula opulation tion tion tion tion
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 :
2024-25
2 India : People and Economy
Fig. 1.1 : India – Distribution of Population
2024-25
Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition     3
States/UTs of large size and large population
States/UTs of large size but small population
States/UTs of smaller size but larger population
Check from the table (Appendix–iA) that U.P.,
Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra
Pradesh along with 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, share of population is very small in the
states like Jammu & Kashmir (1.04%),
Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%) and Uttarakhand
(0.84%) inspite of theses  states having fairly
large geographical area.
Such an uneven spatial distribution of
population in India suggests a close relationship
between population and physical, socio-
economic and historical factors. As far as the
physical factors are concerned, it is clear that
climate along with terrain and availability of
water largely determines the pattern of the
population distribution. Consequently, we
observe that the North Indian Plains, deltas and
Coastal Plains have higher proportion of
population than the interior districts of southern
and central Indian States, Himalayas, some of
the north eastern and the western states.
However, development of irrigation (Rajasthan),
availability of mineral and energy resources
(Jharkhand) and development of transport
network (Peninsular States) have resulted in
moderate to high concentration of population
in areas which were previously very thinly
populated.
Among the socio-economic and historical
factors of distribution of population, important
ones are evolution of settled agriculture and
agricultural development; pattern of human
settlement; development of transport network,
industrialisation and urbanisation. It is
observed that the regions falling in the river
plains and coastal areas of India have remained
the regions of larger  population concentration.
Even though the uses of natural resources like
land and water in these regions have shown
the sign of degradation, the concentration of
population remains high because of an early
history of human settlement and development
of transport network. On the other hand, the
urban regions of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai and
Jaipur have high concentration of population
due to industrial development and
urbanisation drawing a large numbers of
rural-urban migrants.
Density of Density of Density of Density of Density of P P P P Popula opula opula opula opulation tion tion tion tion
Density of population, is expressed as number
of persons per unit area. It helps in getting a
better understanding of the spatial distribution
of population in relation to land. The density of
population in India (2011) is 382 persons per
sq km. There has been a steady increase of more
than 200 persons per sq km over the last 50
years as the density of population increased
from 117 persons/ sq km in 1951 to 382
persons/sq km in 2011.
The data shown in Appendix (i) give an
idea of spatial variation of population densities
in the country which ranges from as low as 17
persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to
11,297 persons in the National Capital
Territory of Delhi. Among the northern Indian
States, Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and
and Uttar Pradesh (828) have higher densities,
while Kerala (859) and Tamil Nadu (555) have
higher densities among the peninsular Indian
states. States like Assam, Gujarat, Andhra
Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha have
moderate densities. The hill states of the
Himalayan region and North eastern states of
India (excluding Assam) have relatively low
densities while the Union Territories (excluding
Andaman and Nicobar islands) have very high
densities of population (Appendix–i).
The density of population, as discussed
in the earlier paragraph, is a crude measure
of human and land relationship. To get a
better insight into the human-land ratio in
terms of  pressure of population on total
cultivable land, the physiological and the
agricultural densities should be found out
which are significant for a country like India
having a large agricultural population.
2024-25
4 India : People and Economy
Fig. 1.2 : India – Density of Population
2024-25
Page 5


Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I Unit I
Chapter 1
POPULATION
Distribution, Density, Growth
and Composition
The people are very important component of a
country. India is the second most populous
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
it simply a territory? Does this signify an
amalgam of people? Is it a territory
inhabited by people living under certain
institutions of governance?
In this chapter, we will discuss the
patterns of distribution, density, growth and
composition of India’s population.
Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data Sources of Population Data 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.
Distrib Distrib Distrib Distrib Distribution of ution of ution of ution of ution of P P P P Popula opula opula opula opulation tion tion tion tion
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 :
2024-25
2 India : People and Economy
Fig. 1.1 : India – Distribution of Population
2024-25
Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition     3
States/UTs of large size and large population
States/UTs of large size but small population
States/UTs of smaller size but larger population
Check from the table (Appendix–iA) that U.P.,
Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra
Pradesh along with 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, share of population is very small in the
states like Jammu & Kashmir (1.04%),
Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%) and Uttarakhand
(0.84%) inspite of theses  states having fairly
large geographical area.
Such an uneven spatial distribution of
population in India suggests a close relationship
between population and physical, socio-
economic and historical factors. As far as the
physical factors are concerned, it is clear that
climate along with terrain and availability of
water largely determines the pattern of the
population distribution. Consequently, we
observe that the North Indian Plains, deltas and
Coastal Plains have higher proportion of
population than the interior districts of southern
and central Indian States, Himalayas, some of
the north eastern and the western states.
However, development of irrigation (Rajasthan),
availability of mineral and energy resources
(Jharkhand) and development of transport
network (Peninsular States) have resulted in
moderate to high concentration of population
in areas which were previously very thinly
populated.
Among the socio-economic and historical
factors of distribution of population, important
ones are evolution of settled agriculture and
agricultural development; pattern of human
settlement; development of transport network,
industrialisation and urbanisation. It is
observed that the regions falling in the river
plains and coastal areas of India have remained
the regions of larger  population concentration.
Even though the uses of natural resources like
land and water in these regions have shown
the sign of degradation, the concentration of
population remains high because of an early
history of human settlement and development
of transport network. On the other hand, the
urban regions of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai and
Jaipur have high concentration of population
due to industrial development and
urbanisation drawing a large numbers of
rural-urban migrants.
Density of Density of Density of Density of Density of P P P P Popula opula opula opula opulation tion tion tion tion
Density of population, is expressed as number
of persons per unit area. It helps in getting a
better understanding of the spatial distribution
of population in relation to land. The density of
population in India (2011) is 382 persons per
sq km. There has been a steady increase of more
than 200 persons per sq km over the last 50
years as the density of population increased
from 117 persons/ sq km in 1951 to 382
persons/sq km in 2011.
The data shown in Appendix (i) give an
idea of spatial variation of population densities
in the country which ranges from as low as 17
persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to
11,297 persons in the National Capital
Territory of Delhi. Among the northern Indian
States, Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and
and Uttar Pradesh (828) have higher densities,
while Kerala (859) and Tamil Nadu (555) have
higher densities among the peninsular Indian
states. States like Assam, Gujarat, Andhra
Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha have
moderate densities. The hill states of the
Himalayan region and North eastern states of
India (excluding Assam) have relatively low
densities while the Union Territories (excluding
Andaman and Nicobar islands) have very high
densities of population (Appendix–i).
The density of population, as discussed
in the earlier paragraph, is a crude measure
of human and land relationship. To get a
better insight into the human-land ratio in
terms of  pressure of population on total
cultivable land, the physiological and the
agricultural densities should be found out
which are significant for a country like India
having a large agricultural population.
2024-25
4 India : People and Economy
Fig. 1.2 : India – Density of Population
2024-25
Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition     5
Physiological density =  total population /
net cultivated area
Agricultural density = total agricultural
population / net cultivable area
Agricultural population includes cultivators
and agricultural labourers and their family
members.
With the help of data given in Appendix (ii), Calculate
the Physiological and Agricultural densities of
population of Indian States and Union Territories.
Compare them with density of population and see how
are these different?
Gr Gr Gr Gr Growth of owth of owth of owth of owth of P P P P Popula opula opula opula opulation tion tion tion tion
Growth of population is the change in the
number of people living in a particular area
between two points of time. Its rate is expressed
in percentage. Population growth has two
components namely; natural and induced.
While the natural growth is analysed by
assessing the crude birth and death rates, the
induced components are explained by the
volume of inward and outward movement of
people in any given area. However, in the
present chapter, we will only discuss the
natural growth of India’s population.
The decadal and annual growth rates of
population in India are both very high and
steadily increasing over time. The annual
growth rate of India’s population is 1.64 per
cent (2011).
Population Doubling Time Population Doubling Time Population Doubling Time Population Doubling Time Population Doubling Time
Population doubling time is the time taken
by any population to double  itself at its
current annual growth rate.
The growth rate of population in India over
the last one century has been caused by annual
birth rate and death rate and rate of migration
and thereby shows different trends. There are
four distinct phases of growth identified within
this period:
* Decadal growth rate:   
2 1
1
p -p
g = ×100
p
where P
1
 = population of the base year
P
2
 = population of the present year
** Source : Census of India, 2011(Provisional)
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
2024-25