Geography India - The People

Introduction

• Throughout the country, India has a highly uneven pattern of the population distribution.

• Uttar Pradesh has the highest population followed by Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal.

• Terrain, climate, and availability of water largely determine the pattern of the population distribution. However, socio-economic and historical factors also affect the pattern of population distribution.

• As per the 2011 census, urban population of India was 31.16% (the details of major urban center is illustrated in the following map).

• As per census 2011, the annual population growth rate is 1.64 percent.

Population Density

• The density of population is expressed as the number of persons per unit area.

• The density of population in India as per 2011 census is 382 persons per square km.

• Bihar with 1102 people per square km is the most densely populated state of India followed by West Bengal (1029) and Uttar Pradesh (828).

• Physiological density refers to the total population divided by the net cultivated area.

• Agricultural density refers to the total agricultural population divided by the net cultivable area.

• Agricultural population includes cultivators and agricultural laborers and their family members.

Phases of Population Growth

India’s population can be analyzed in four phases −

• Phase I, the period between 1901 and 1921 − This period is known as stagnancy period, as the birth rate and death rate both were high and the population growth rate was very slow.

• Phase II, the period between 1921 and 1951 − It was the period of steady population growth.

• Phase III, the period between 1951 and 1981 − It was the period of population explosion in India.

• Phase IV, from 1981 to till date − Population growth rate though still high, but reflecting a decreasing trend.

Population Composition

• As per census 2011, 68.8 per cent of the total population lives in village and 31.2 per cent of the population lives in urban areas.

• Considering the economic status, population can be divided into categories such as main workers, marginal workers, and non-workers.

• As per the census 2011, main workers and marginal workers collectively constitute only about 39.8 percent of total population; rest are non-workers.

• About 54.6 per cent of the total working population are cultivators and agricultural laborers

• About 41.6 % are other workers, such as non-household industries, trade, commerce, construction, repair, and other services.

• The number of female workers is relatively high in the primary sector.

• The proportion of workers in agricultural sector in India has shown a declining trend over the last few decades; in 2001, it was 58.2%, whereas, in 2011, it was 54.6%.

Literacy

• As per the 2011 census, literacy rate of India was 74.04% (the details of literacy rate is illustrated in the following map − state-wise).

Sex Ratio

• As per the 2011 census, sex ratio of India was 940 females per 1000 males (the details of sex ratio is illustrated in the following map − state-wise).

Languages

• In India, there are 22 scheduled languages and hundreds of non-scheduled languages.

• Among the scheduled languages, Hindi is the highest spoken language and Kashmiri and Sanskrit have the least number of speakers.

Religions

• Religion is one of the most integral parts of the population composition of India.

• More than 80 percent of the population comprises of Hindus followed by Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains.