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UPSC » UPSC CSE Study Materials » NCERT Notes for UPSC 2024 » Population: Distribution and Density

Population: Distribution and Density

In this article we will discuss about population distribution and density , also the
spatial distribution of population of each state and Union territory in India.

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Introduction
Geography Class 12: Population: Distribution and Density deals with patterns of
population distribution, population growth, population density, and composition of
the Indian population.

Under population distribution, we will study the pattern of the spatial distribution
of the Indian population and also know the percentage of the population of every
state and union territory.

Population density measures the relationship between humans and land. It gives
population measurement in terms of persons per sq km. The concept of population
growth in terms of Natural population growth will be discussed. Lastly, the topic of
population composition and its types will be discussed.

Topics covered in the chapter

1. Distribution of population
The population distribution on the Indian subcontinent is severely unequal.

States with the highest population: The most populous state is Uttar Pradesh,
followed by Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal
States with the lowest population: Jammu & Kashmir has the lowest population,
followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand despite having considerably
larger geographical areas
76% of the total Indian population is situated in 10 major states: Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat

Factors affecting the population distribution across India –

This uneven spatial population distribution indicates a close relationship between
population and socio-economic, physical and historical factors.

Effects of physical factors:

Climate, terrain and water availability are three major physical factors that
account for the uneven pattern of population distribution
The Indian population is more concentrated in the northern Indian plains, coastal
plains and deltas. It is thinly populated in inner districts of central and southern
Indian states, the Himalayan region, and some eastern and northeastern states
But over a period of time, there has been development in irrigation systems in
water scarcity states like Rajasthan. More availability of minerals and innovations
in energy resources has led to an increase in population density in states like
Jharkhand

Effects of socio-economic and historical factors:

This involves two factors: development in agricultural practices and urbanization
and industrialization
There has been a decline in the land area and water availability in India’s coastal
areas and river plains. Still, socio-economic factors like early human settlement
and subsequent development in transportation have helped retain the high
population concentration in these regions
India’s urban and metropolitan cities have high population concentration due to
urbanization and industrialization
Development in transportation has also made Peninsular states from moderately to
highly concentrated
2. Population Density
Population density is defined as the number of individuals per unit area.
Population density is a better way of understanding patterns of population
distribution in terms of land. The population density is calculated after every ten
years in India
The data of 2011 shows that there are 382 persons per square km. India’s
population density has risen steadily over the past 50 years, from 117 people per
square kilometre in 1951 to 382 people per square kilometre in 2011
The Northern Indian States with the highest population density: Bihar has the
highest population density, followed by West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh
Indian peninsular states with the highest population density: Kerala, followed by
Tamil Nadu
Lowest population density state: Arunachal Pradesh has the lowest population
density with 17 persons per sq km
The union territory with the highest population density is the National capital New
Delhi with 11,297 persons per sq km.s
Except for Assam, the Himalayan plains and northeast of India have low densities
For agriculturally populated countries like India, population densities are
measured in accordance with physiological and agricultural densities
Physiological density = total population / net cultivated area
Agricultural density = total agricultural population / net cultivable area
3. Population Growth
Population growth is the percentage change in the population density of a
particular region between two points of time.

Two components of population growth: Natural population growth and induced

population growth
*Natural population growth: calculated by analyzing natality and mortality
rates of a given area

*Induced population growth: calculated by analyzing migration and

immigration rates of a given area

The decadal and annual population growth rates in India are very high and
increasing over the period of time.
The annual population growth rate was 1.64 per cent as per census 2011
In the last century, four major periods of growth have been identified

Phase I: The period from 1901 – 1921

The population of India is said to be in a stationary or stagnant phase
Both natality rate and mortality rate were high
1911-1921 showed negative growth
Reasons: Poor Medical health facilities, illiteracy, insufficient necessities like food

Phase II: The period from 1921 – 1951

Known as the period of steady and slow population growth
Less mortality rate compared to phase I
Despite the Great Depression of the 1920s and World War II, the birth rate was high
Reasons: improvement in health and transport and communication sectors

Phase III: The period from 1951-1981

This period is known as ‘India’s population surge’
Rapid decrease in the death rate and increase in the fertility rate
Natural increase in the birth rate due to immigration on a large scale from
neighbouring countries
The average yearly growth rate goes up to as high as 2.2%
Reasons: this is the after independence phase; therefore, development started on a
massive scale in all the essential sectors, the economy boosted, and living
conditions improved

Phase IV: Period post-1981 till present

The population growth rate started declining gradually due to the fall in the birth
rate
Reasons: increase in the mean of marriage age, more access to education to
females
Nonetheless, according to the World Development Report, India’s population is
expected to exceed 1,350 million by 2025
4. Population Composition
Population composition is the study of the population geography of a region in
terms of sex ratios, age, residential places, culture, tribes, religion, language,
literacy, occupation, marital status etc., of its population.

This chapter deals with the composition of the Indian population in terms of rural-
urban composition, linguistic composition, and religious composition.

The Rural-Urban Composition of India

Rural-urban composition is based on places of residence
It indicates the social and economic aspects of a population
As we know, the Indian population is unevenly distributed throughout the
subcontinent; about 68.8 % of the total Indian population is rural. Out of 640,867
villages, 597,608 (93.2 %) are inhabited villages
States with the highest rural population: Bihar, followed by Sikkim. The states with
the lowest rural population: Maharashtra and Goa
All-Union Territories, except Dadra and Nagar Haveli, have low rural populations
This unevenness in the rural population at intrastate and interstate levels is due to
rural-urban migration and increasing urbanization
The urban population has been growing rapidly over the decades. This is because
of economic development and improvement in other essential sectors like health,
food, transport etc.
In the agriculturally inactive parts of India, urbanization is low. Regions of the
middle and lower Ganga Plains, remote hills, Telangana, tribal areas of the
northeast, flood sensitive areas of Peninsular India, non-irrigated Western
Rajasthan, and eastern part of Madhya Pradesh come under this
 Conclusion
This chapter gives detailed knowledge of the population distribution of the Indian
subcontinent and also covers different factors of population distribution. We got to
know the physical, socio-economical and historical reasons behind the uneven
population distribution of India. The different compositions of the population are
based on language, religion and economy. We also learned about population
density and why it is a better way of understanding patterns of population
distribution in terms of land. We learned to calculate population density through
mathematical formulas. This chapter also covers the topic of Indian population
growth, its types and its pattern over the past one century.

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