IX Chapter -6 POPULATION

 

Chapter -6

POPULATION

Census

A census is an official enumeration of population done periodically. The counting is conducted usually every tenth year. The data collected regarding every aspect of population is then compiled in a book and the whole process is called the census.

 

The various uses of a census are as follows :

(i) A census provides us information regarding the population of the country.

(ii) It is the most comprehensive source of demographic, social and economic data.

(iii) It provides us information regarding population size and distribution. So it helps in

planning the development of various regions.

(iv) The comparison of census reports of various decades helps in identifying the trend of

population growth. This helps in resource planning.

(v) The level of economic and social development of a country can be identified from the

occupational structure and literacy rates provided in the census.

 

Population growth

What is meant by population growth and how do you calculate it?

• Growth of population refers to the change in the number of inhabitants of a country /

territory during a specific period of time, say during the last 10 years. Such a change can

be expressed in two ways: in terms of absolute numbers and in terms of % change per

year.

• It is obtained by simply subtracting the earlier population from the later population. It is

referred to as absolute increase.

 

 

Cause of the rate of growth of Indian population

The main cause of the rate of growth of Indian population since independence has been the

rapid decline in death rate. The main reasons behind this decrease in death rate after

independence are as follows.

(i)Better medical facilities and improvement of public health.

(ii) Prevention of infectious diseases with the help of vaccines.

(iii) Controlling of epidemics through health measures and better sanitation.

(iv) Decrease in infant mortality due to family planning and child care programmes.

(v) Extension of hospitals, modern medical practices in treatment of ailments.

(vi) Also, rapid industrialisation and urbanisation since independence have increased the

opportunities for livelihood and raised the nutritional level and living standard.

 

 

Disadvantages of large population

(i) Per Capita Income goes down as the national income is distributed among large number of people.

(ii) Increasing population results in increased pressure on land and it adversely affects

productivity in agriculture.

(iii) Poverty and unemployment conditions increase day by day.

 

Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1000 males in the population. The sex ratio in India was 933 in 2001. The sex ratio in India is skewed with the number of males exceeding the number of females. It has always remained unfavourable to females. The main reasons behind this are :

(i) Unequal social treatment.

(ii) Discrimination against girl child.

(iii) Low literacy rates and lack of social awareness.

(iv) Evil effects of early marriage and large number of death during child birth.

(v) Insufficient attention to and care of girls after birth, during adolescent period and during

motherhood.

(vi) Poverty of the people leads to preference for male child as they become bread earners.

All of the above result in more death among females and affects the sex ratio.

 

Special features of human resources of India

(i) The human resource of India is very large.

(iii) Its distribution is quite uneven.

(iv) It has been increasing very rapidly.

 

 

Major questions about the population

1. Population size and distribution: How many people are there and where are they located?

2. Population growth and processes of population change: How has the population grown are changed with time?

3. Characteristics or qualities of the population: What are their ages, sex compositions, literacy levels, occupational structures and health conditions?

 

Population density is calculated as the number of persons per unit area. Population density is not the same throughout India.

1. The population density of India varies from 904 persons per sq km in West Bengal to only  

persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh.

2. 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.

 

 

Age composition

The population of a nation is grouped under three categories.

(i) Children (generally below 15 years). These groups are economically unproductive. They

require food, clothing, education and medical care.

(ii) Working Group (15 to 59 years age). They are economically productive and biologically

reproductive. These group bears the burden of children and aged group.

(iii) Aged (Above 59 years). This group is by and large unproductive and depends upon the

working group.

Dependent Population	Productive Population
i. They are not actively engaged in productive occupation.	i. The population is engaged in useful productive occupation.
ii. They do not contribute to the national income.	ii. They contribute to the national income.
iii. They form dependent population and are supported by productive population. High dependency ration has socio-economic implications.	iii. This age group is economically independent and supports dependent population of non-workers and children.

 

Dependency ratio

The ratio of people of dependent age (below 15 years and 60 years) to people of economically active ages (15–59 years) is called dependency ratio.

The dependency ratio is higher in India because a larger number of children (34.4 per cent)

and aged population (6.9 per cent) are found dependent upon the working population (58.7%).

The economically unproductive population needs food, clothing, education and medicare

which has to be provided by the working population.

 

Occupational structure and development

i. The distribution of the population according to different types of occupation is referred to as the occupational structure which is classified into:

            Primary, Secondary and Tertiary activities

*Primary activities are related to extraction of raw materials from nature. It includes agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, fishing, mining and quarrying etc.

*Secondary activities include industries that transform raw materials into finished goods. It

includes manufacturing industry, building and construction work etc.

*Tertiary activities include the services like transportation, communication, commerce,

administration, etc.

 

ii. The percentage of population that is economically active is an important index of development. Developed nations have high proportion of people in secondary and tertiary activities.

iii. In India, about 64% of population is engaged in agriculture. 13% of population is engaged in secondary activities and 20% in tertiary activities. Thus, India is a developing country, though there is a slight shift in favour of secondary and tertiary sectors due to growing industrialization and urbanization.

 

Change the present occupational structure

i. 2/3rd of India’s labour force is engaged in primary activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, etc.

ii. The level of primary productivity is low.

iii. the productive level in secondary industrial sector is higher, leading to higher per capita income.

iv. Those in the industry constitute only 10% of the total working force. 1/4th of our population is in the tertiary or service sector.

 

Population distribution in India.

India is a vast country having diverse types of relief patterns, soils and climatic conditions. Owing to this fact, it is usual to have uneven distribution of population.

1. Climate: Areas having moderate climate have more population than the areas having extreme climatic conditions.

2. Types of Soil: India’s northern plains are made up of alluvial soil which are very fertile and are densely populated. On the other hand hilly areas and deserts are sparsely populated.

3. Opportunity for jobs: Urban areas are thickly populated because of the good opportunity of job.

4. Religious and historical places: Like Allahabad, Varanasi, Rameshwaram, Agra, etc. are also thickly populated areas.

 

 

Advantages of large population

A large population makes positive contribution to economic growth because of availability of larger manpower for productive activities in the fields of secondary, tertiary and tertiary sectors.

ii) It is the point of reference from which all other elements observed and from

which they derive significance and meaning. ‘Resources’ , ‘calamities’ and ‘disasters’

are all meaningful only in relation to human beings

iii) Their numbers, distributions, growth and characteristics or qualities provide the

basic background for understanding and appreciating all aspects of the

environment.

iv) Human beings are producers and consumers of earth’s resources. Therefore it is

very important to know how many people are there in a country, where do they

live, how and why are their numbers increasing and what are their characteristics

 

Disadvantages of large population:

i) Per capita income goes down as the national income is distributed among larger number of people.

ii) Consumption trend gets upward, reducing the size of savings.

iii) Increasing population results in increased pressure on land and it adversely affects

productivity in agriculture.

iv) Poverty and unemployment conditions increase day by day.

 

Impact of urbanization

i. The urban population has increased to about 28% (2001). There are now 35 ‘million plus cities’. Almost more than half of our population lives in ‘million plus cities’. In 20th century, urban population increased by 8 times.

 

ii. Rapid urbanization leads to lack of facilities like housing, sanitation, water, power and education, etc. Slums and other social tensions are created. Crime rate increases.

 

iii. It puts heavy pressure on transport. Heavy rush on road creates transport problems like traffic jams, accidents, etc. High urbanization creates congestion and pollution and reduces forest cover and agricultural land. This leads to ecological imbalance and environmental pollution.

iv. The situation in rural regions is also deteriorating. The landless farmers are migrating. Urbanization reduces forest power as well cultivable land. It leads to ecological imbalance or environmental pollution. The rural areas further deteriorate.

 

Basic factors affecting the population of India

 

i) Birth rate – It is the number of births per 1000 individuals of a country’s population per

annum. It increases both population size and population density.

 

ii) Death rate – It is expressed as the number of deaths per 1000 individuals of a nation’s

population per year. It decreases both population size and density.

 

iii) Immigration – It is the entry of more individuals into a local population of a species in a

specific area from outside due to more favourable conditions in that area.

 

iv) Emigration – It is the departure of some individuals from a local population to another area due to unfavourable conditions in the former. It decreases population size of that area.

 

Features of National population policy, 2000

 

i. To improve the quality of life of people. Planning of families would improve individual health and welfare.

ii. National Population Policy provides free and compulsory school education upto 14 years of age and reducing drop-outs at primary and secondary levels.

iii. Promoting delayed marriage for girls not earlier than 18 years and preferably after 20 years old.

iv. Preventing and controlling diseases, immunizing all children against all vaccine preventable diseases.

v. Promoting ‘small family’ norm. Providing incentives to adopt small family.  That is, to adopt two children per family norm.

 

Concept of value education is primarily aimed to inculcate moral, environmental, educational, democratic and literary values in the individuals. It is for the improvement of individuals themselves as well as of society, nation and universe as a whole.

Components of Value Education are:

i) Moral education, ii) Environmental education, iii) Population education,

iv) Human rights and duties, v) Health education, vi) Indian cultural education,

vii) Physical education, viii) Yoga education and ix) History of Indian freedom

movement

 

Adolescent population

i. Adolescents are grouped in the age group of 10-19 years. It comprises of nearly 1/5th of India’s population. They are the most important resource of the future.

 

ii. This group of adolescents is very critical for a nation. Their nutritional requirements are higher than those of the adults. The development of this group to their full potential is very important for the country’s total human resource development.

 

iii. They need special care towards meeting their basic needs. In our country, adolescents do not get adequate nutrition in their diet and poor diet leads to stunted growth. Most of the adolescent girls suffer from malnutrition, leading to anemia. These girls need attention to the problems they face. Their awareness can be improved through literacy, particularly in the rural areas.

 

 

 

 

 

Worksheet

1.         What is meant by the natural growth rate of population? What does the change in population of a territory indicate at?

2.         Mention any three disadvantages of large population?

3.         What are the three special features of human resources of India?

4.         What are the three major questions about the population?

5.         Population is the pivotal element in social studies. Support your answer giving three points.

6.         What is population density? How can you say that population density is not same throughout India? Give any two examples.

7.         What is population growth? What are the two key factors for declining growth rate of population since 1981?

8.         What are Primary, Secondary and Tertiary activities?

9.         Distinguish between: Growth rate and Birth rate.

10.      Write a short note on the population distribution in India.

11.      Describe the basic factors affecting the population of India.

12.      What is the concept of value education adopted under national population policy, 2000 in India? Mention its components.

13.      What has been the impact of urbanization in India? Mention three features.

14.      Give a brief account of economic advantages and disadvantages of large population.

15.      What is the relationship between occupational structure and development?

16.      Why is it necessary to change the present occupational structure of India? Explain by giving three examples.

17.      What are the significance features of the National Population Policy 2000?

18.      What is adolescent population? How is this age group a very critical stage in a nation’s life?

19.      Growing urban population has not only created problems in the urban centres but also it has affected the rural areas. Explain.

20.      Distinguish between population growth and population change.

21.      What is a census? Why is it important for a country to conduct censuses periodically?

22.      What are the reasons for the decrease in death rate in India after independence?

23.      What is meant by sex ratio? Give two reasons for low sex ratio in India.

24.      Categorize the population of a nation into three broad categories on the basis of age composition and explain it.

25.      What is dependency ratio? Why is dependency ratio higher in India?

 

 

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