NCERT Solutions - Population: Distribution, Density and Growth in Geography

Q1: Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.
(i) India's population as per 2011 census is :
(a) 1028 million
(b) 3182 million
(c) 3287 million
(d) 1210 million
Ans: (d)

India's population as per the 2011 Census is 1210 million.

(ii) Which one of the following states has the highest density of population in India?
(a) West Bengal
(b) Kerala
(c) Uttar Pradesh
(d) Bihar
Ans: (d)

Bihar has the highest population density in India as per the 2011 Census, which is 1102 persons/sq km.

(iii) Which one of the following states has the highest proportion of urban population in India according to 2011 Census?
(a) Tamil Nadu
(b) Maharashtra
(c) Kerala
(d) Goa
Ans: (d)

Goa had the highest proportion of urban population in India in 2011, owing to large cities like Mumbai and Pune.

(iv) Which one of the following is the largest linguistic group of India?
(a) Sino - Tibetan
(b) Indo - Aryan
(c) Austric
(d) Dravidian
Ans: (b)

The Indo-Aryan group is the largest linguistic group in India, spoken by nearly 73% of the population.

Q2: 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.
Ans:

• Climate plays a very important role in influencing the population. The two elements of climate, rainfall and temperature, play the most important role in determining the population of an area.
• When a place has extremes of climate, the density of population is low, such as the too cold climate of the Himalayas, and the too hot and dry climate of the Thar Desert. When a place has a moderate climate, it attracts people and has a high density of population.
• Rainfall supplies water for agriculture, which is the main occupation of Indian people. The amount of rainfall decreases as we move from the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta in the east towards the Thar Desert in the west.

(ii) Which states have large rural population in India? Give one reason for such large rural population.
Ans: States like Himachal Pradesh and Bihar have a large rural population. This is mainly due to their heavy dependence on agriculture and limited development of industrial and urban sectors.

(iii) Why do some states of India have higher rates of work participation than others?
Ans: In India, the work participation rate is higher in the areas of lower levels of economic development since several manual workers are needed to perform the subsistence or near subsistence economic activities.

(iv) 'The agricultural sector has the largest share of Indian workers.' - Explain.
Ans: About 54.6 per cent of the total working population are cultivators and agricultural labourers, whereas only 3.8% of workers are engaged in household industries and 41.6 % are other workers, including non-household industries, trade, commerce, construction and repair and other services.

Q3: Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Discuss the spatial pattern of the density of population in India.
Ans: Density of population is expressed as the number of persons per unit area. It helps in getting a better understanding of the spatial distribution of the population in relation to land. The density of population in India is 382 persons per square km.

• The spatial variation of population densities in the country ranges from as low as 17 persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to 11,297 persons per sq km  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, and 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.

(ii) Give an account of the occupational structure of India's population.
Ans: The occupational structure of a country refers to the division of its workforce engaged in different economic activities.

• India has a large proportion of primary sector workers compared to secondary and tertiary sectors.
• About 54.6 per cent of the total working population are cultivators and agricultural labourers, whereas only 3.8% of workers are engaged in household industries and 41.6 % are other workers, including nonhousehold industries, trade, commerce, construction and repair and other services.
• As far as the occupation of the country's male and female population is concerned, male workers outnumber female workers in all three sectors.
• The number of female workers is relatively high in the primary sector, though in recent years, there has been some improvement in the work participation of women in secondary and tertiary sectors.
• The proportion of workers in the agricultural sector in India has shown a decline over the last few decades (58.2% in 2001 to 54.6% in 2011).
• Consequently, the participation rate in the secondary and tertiary sectors has registered an increase. This indicates a shift in the dependence of workers from farm-based occupations to non-farm-based ones, indicating a sectoral shift in the economy of the country.