Introduction to Gi science

DEMOGRAPHIC ATLAS OF BIHAR

(PRACTICAL – SKILL ENHANCEMENTCOURSE)
PAPER CODE :-12293405

B.A(HONS.) GEOGRAPHY
SEMESTER- Iv (2 nd YEAR)
ROLL NO. :- 21034513036

DEPARTMENT OF
GEOGRAPHY
KAMLA NEHRU COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
S.NO. TOPICS PAGE
NO.

5-10
1. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION OF BIHAR

11-15
2. CHOROPLETH MAP

16-19
3. PIE- OVERLAY

20-24
4. BAR DIAGRAM

25
5. CONCLUSION

26
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

CONTENT
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to our Mentor, Dr. Bratati Barik
ma’am, Department of Geography, Kamla Nehru College, who was a continual source of
inspiration. She pushed us to think imaginatively and urged us to do this work without
hesitation. Her vast knowledge, extensive experience, and professional competence in
GIScience enabled us to successfully accomplish this project. This endeavour would not have
been possible without her.

STUDENT
RITU KUMARI
ROLL NO. :- 21034513036
B.A GEOGRAPHY (HONS.)
 DECLARATION

This is to certify that I, Ritu Kumari, Roll number:- 21034513036, Student of B.A
Geography(honours), Kamla Nehru College have successfully completed this practical file
for the course of geographic information system (GIS) under the supervision of our teacher
Dr. Bratati Barik during 4th semester 2023, as per the guidelines issued by the University of
Delhi.
This is to further certify that this project file is my original work and I have duly
acknowledged the resources referred at the end of the file.

Student Subject Teacher

Ritu kumari Dr. Bratati Barik

Roll no.:- 21034513036 Associate Professor
Semester:- IV Department of
Geography
B.A Geography (Hons.)

STUDENT’S SIGNATURE TEACHER’S SIGNATURE

 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Bihar is a state in the eastern part of the country India. It is an entirely land-locked state, in a
subtropical region of the temperate zone. It is located between latitudes 24°20’10” N and
27°31’15” N and longitudes 83°19’50” E and 88°17’40” E. It is bounded by Nepal to the
north and by the Indian states of West Bengal to the northeast and Uttar Pradesh to the west,
which provides it with a transitional position in respect of climate, economy and culture. It is
bounded by Jharkhand in south, created in November 2000 from Bihar’s southern provinces.

Geographical Background

The 94164 square kilometres of the area which falls under the state is politically divided into
9 divisions and 37 districts. The capital of the state is Patna. The population of the state is
82.88 million and the sex ratio is 100:92. Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the
state, while Urdu and Santhali are also prominent languages. The language as do the customs
and traditions change from region to region but as the people have embraced the customs and
traditions of each other, they love together in harmony. The literacy rate of the state is 47.53
per cent.

The area of the state consists of rich planes, hilly regions, and valleys of the Ganges.
Topographically the area of Bihar is a rich alluvial plain of the Gangetic valley located in the
Northern region of the State. These plains lie from the foothills of the Himalayas and reach to
the South of the river Ganges.

Physiography

Bihar is the third largest state terms of population and 12 th largest in terms of area of 94,163
km². On the basis of physical and structural conditions Bihar has been divided into 3 parts

1. The Southern Plateau Region

 2. Bihar’s Gangetic Plain, and
3. The Shivalik region.

The state of West Champaran is shadowed by the area in the sub Himalayan Foothill of the
Shivalik range spanning an area that is 32 kilometres long and 6 to 8 kilometres wide. The
Southern plateau and the Northern mountains are separated by Bihar’s plain. The Ganga
River divides the huge rich Bihar plain into 2 unequal regions known as North Bihar and
South Bihar. The Southern Plateau Region is situated between Banka in the east and Kaimur
district in the west. The state is naturally drained by Ganga River. The Ghaghara, the Gandak
the Baghmati, the Kosi, the Mahananda and other rivers flow down from the Himalayas of
Nepal and make their way to the Ganges in frequently changing canals.

Bihar lies completely in the subtropical region of the temperature zone and its climatic type is
humid subtropical. It’s temperature is subtropical in general with hot summers and cold
winters. Bihar has an average daily high temperature of only 26°C with a yearly average of
26°C. The climate is very warm but has only a few tropical and humid months. Several
months of the year is it warm to hot at temperature continuously above 25°C sometimes up to
29°C. Due to less rain the best time for travelling is from October to April most rain days
occur from May to September.

The natural vegetation of Bihar is deciduous forest, but only a small portion of the total area
is forested. Most forests occur in the Himalayan foothills; those on the plain have largely
been removed in order to cultivate the land. Valuable resin-yielding Sal trees are found in the
Himalayan foothills, along with an abundance of bamboo, reeds and grasses. Common trees
of the plain include Banyan, Bo trees and Palmyra palms. The more in accessible forest
region of Bihar are home of various species of large mammals, most notably Bengal tigers,
leopards, elephants and several types of deer. Crocodile are most numerous along the Kosi
river. In the early 21st century significant populations of the endangered adjutant stork were
found in the Kosi and Ganga floodplains. Small mammals, birds, reptiles and fish are
common throughout the state.

Bihar has National Highways with total length of 5,358 kilometre and State Highways with
length of 4,006 kilometres. Also, Bihar has 921 kilometres of proposed Expressways. The
Rail network in Bihar is excellent and provides first rate citizen centric railway services to the
people. Most of the cities have a railway junction that facilitates railway travel across the
state. One can easily travel from one part of the state to the other by train. Bihar is connected
by National Waterway No.1 which established in October 1986. The national waterways has
fixed terminals at Haldia, BISN, Pakur, Farrakka and Patna the national waterways has also
floating terminals facilitates the Haldia. Patna airport well connected to cities like Delhi,
Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and many other cities in India. It is characterised as a restricted
International Airport with custom facilities to receive international chartered flights. Gaya
airport is Bihar’s only International Airport and offer seasonal flights that connect to the city
to Thailand, Bhutan and Myanmar.

Districts of Bihar

There are 38 districts in Bihar in total divided into 9 divisions for better administrative
control. These districts are each headed by a District Magistrate. Several other administrative
officers assist DM to look after the law-and-order situation in the district. Each district in
Bihar is divided further into subdivisions and community development blocks. Unlike other
states in India the number of districts in Bihar has been constant over the last many years.
There has been no major public demand of adding any more justices in this state.

As mentioned earlier, all of the Bihar districts are divided into 9 administrative divisions for
better control over the law and order within the districts. The administrative divisions are
Patna, Saran, Tirhut, Purnia, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Kosi, Magadh and Munger.

According to the census of 2011, Patna is the biggest district in Bihar in terms of population
this district has a total area of 3200 square kilometres and population 5,838,465 people
whereas Sheikhpura is the least populated district with total population of 636,342. On the
other hand, the biggest district in terms of area is West Champaran, which covers an area of
5,229 sq. kilometres and the smallest district in terms of area is Sheohar. This district covers
an area of only 443 sq. kilometres.
S No. District Headquarters Population (Census 2011)
 1 Araria Araria 2811569
2 Arwal Arwal 700843
3 Aurangabad Aurangabad 2540073
4 Banka Banka 2034763
5 Begusarai Begusarai 2970541
6 Bhagalpur Bhagalpur 3037766
7 Bhojpur Arrah 2728407
8 Buxar Buxar 1706352
9 Darbhanga Darbhanga 3937385
10 East Champaran Motihari 5099371
11 Gaya Gaya 4391418
12 Gopalganj Gopalganj 2562012
13 Jamui Jamui 1760405
14 Jehanabad Jehanabad 1125313
15 Kaimur Bhabua 1626384
16 Katihar Katihar 3071029
17 Khagaria Khagaria 1666886
18 Kishanganj Kishanganj 1690400
19 Lakhisarai Lakhisarai 1000912
20 Madhepura Madhepura 2001762
21 Madhubani Madhubani 4487379
22 Munger Munger 1367765
23 Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur 4801062
24 Nalanda Bihar Sharif 2877653
25 Nawada Nawada 2219146
26 Patna Patna 5838465
27 Purnia Purnia 3264619
28 Rohtas Sasaram 2959918
29 Saharsa Saharsa 1900661
30 Samastipur Samastipur 4261566
31 Saran Chhapra 3951862
32 Sheikhpura Sheikhpura 636342
33 Sheohar Sheohar 656246
34 Sitamarhi Sitamarhi 3423574
35 Siwan Siwan 3330464
36 Supaul Supaul 2229076
37 Vaishali Hajipur 3495021
38 West Champaran Bettiah 3935042
Source: - Census of India,2011
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION OF
BIHAR,2011
 Chapter 2

POPULATION DENSITY OF BIHAR, 2011

At the 2011 Census, Bihar was the third most populous state of India with total population of
104,099,452, nearly 89% of it rural. It was also India's most densely populated state, with
1,106 persons per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 918 females per 1000 males. Almost
58% of Bihar's population was below 25 years age, which is the highest in India. At 11.3%,
Bihar has the second-lowest urbanisation rate in India after Himachal Pradesh.

S.No. Districts Population Density(2011)

1 Patna 1823
2 Purbi Champaran 1285
3 Muzaffarpur 1514
4 Madhubani 1282
5 Gaya 883
6 Samastipur 1467
7 Saran 1496
8 Darbhanga 1728
9 Pashchim Champaran 753
10 Vaishali 1717
11 Sitamarhi 1492
12 Siwan 1501
13 Purnia 1011
14 Katihar 1005
15 Bhagalpur 1182
16 Begusarai 1549
17 Rohtas 763
18 Nalanda 1222
19 Araria 993
20 Bhojpur 1139
 21 Gopalganj 1260
22 Aurangabad 769
23 Supaul 919
24 Nawada 890
25 Banka 674
26 Madhepura 1120
27 Saharsa 1127
28 Jamui 568
29 Buxar 1002
30 Kishanganj 897
31 Khagaria 1122
32 Kaimur 488
33 Munger 964
34 Jehanabad 1209
35 Lakhisarai 815
36 Arwal 1098
37 Sheohar 1880
38 Sheikhpura 924
Source: - Census of India,2011

Methodology
The choropleth map technique has been used through the QGIS software. Before creating a
choropleth map, we must join the shapefile to the attribute table that contains the values we
want to display. Once the attribute table associated with the vector layer follow the steps
mentioned below: -

 Right click on the vector layer and click on “Properties”.

 Click on “Symbology” and select “Coloured” from the top right drop down menu.
 Select the attribute field, colour scheme, number of classes and then click on classify.
 Then click on apply and then click on OK.
 The choropleth map is displayed
POPULATION DENSITY OF BIHAR, 2011
Interpretation
As per the census of India in 2011, Bihar comprised 9.33 percent of the India’s population.
The population density of Bihar is shown here in 5 categories. These are: -

 Very low population density

 Low population density
 Medium population density
 High population density and
 Very high population density

Very low population density

Due to some un-favourable conditions some districts of Bihar are very less populated. These
districts are Kaimur, Jamui and Banka.

Low population density

Low population density category includes 16 districts these are West Champaran, Saupaul,
Kishanganj, Purnia, Kathihar, Munger, Lakhisarai, Seikhsarai, Bauxar, Nawada, Gaya,
Aurangabad and Rohtas.

Medium population density

Under the category of medium population density, there are 10 districts and these are
Gopalganj, East Champaran, Madhubani, Saharsa, Madhepura,, Khagaria, Bhagalpur,
Bhojpur, Nalanda and Jahanabad.

High population density

High population density is observed in Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Siwan, Begusarai and
Samastipur.

Very high population density

Sheohar, Darbhanga, Vaishali and Patna is having very high population density.

Conclusion
Bihar is a state in Eastern India. It’s the third most populous state in India after UP and
Maharashtra. The density of the state is 1102 per square kilometres. It is relatively higher
than the national average, which 3 per square kilometres. The population density per square
kilometre area too increased signification at a population of 1102 per sq. km area in 2011 as
against 881 in 2001.

Sheohar district (1882 people per s.q km) has the highest Population density in Bihar. Patna
with the density of 1823 per sq. km is in the second place. Kaimur District with a population
density of 488 people per km has the lowest density district in Bihar.
 Chapter 3

RURAL AND URBAN POPULATION OF BIHAR,

2011

According to the Provisional Population Totals of the Census of India 2011, the total
population of Bihar was estimated to be 103.80 million. Out of the 103.80 million population,
the rural population was found to be 92.07 million, and the urban population was found to be
11.73 million.

Between the years 2001 to 2011, it was observed that the total population increased by 20.81
million, the rural population increased by 17.76 million, and the urban population increased
by 3.05 million.
 DISTRICTS RURAL URBAN
POPULATION POPULATION
Seikhpura 527340 109002
Sheohar 628130 28116
Arwal 648994 51849
Lakhisarai 857901 143011
Jahanabad 990117 135196
Munger 987645 380120
Kaimur 1560813 65571
Kishangarh 1529277 161123
Khagaria 1579727 87159
Buxar 1541853 164499
Jamui 1615072 145333
Saharsa 1774412 156540
Madhepura 1913301 88461
Nawada 2003567 215579
Sapaul 2123518 105558
Gopalganj 2399207 162805
Aurangabad 2303219 236854
Bhojpur 2338546 389861
Araria 2642792 168777
Nalanda 2419754 457894
Rohtas 2532153 427765
Begusarai 2400718 569823
Kathihar 2797207 273822
Bhagalpur 2435234 602532
Siwan 3147551 182913
Purnia 2921614 343005
Sitamarhi 3233076 190498
Vishali 3261942 38280
Saran 3598660 353202
Banka 1963450 71313
Darbhanga 3554057 383328
West Champaran 3541877 393165
Gaya 3809817 581601
Madhubani 4325884 161495
Muzaffarpur 4327625 473437
East Champaran 4698028 401343
Patna 3323875 2514590
Samastipur 4113769 147797
Source: - Census of India,2011

Methodology
The pie overlay map technique has been used through QGIS software.

Before completing the overall layout, an attribute table must be prepared on the selected field
on the given theme. After completing this, the prescribed methods should be followed:-

 Right click on the vector layer and click on “Properties”.

 Click on diagrams
 Select “pie chart” from the top right drop down menu.
 Select assigned attribute from the attribute table.
 Press apply and OK thereafter.
 Then select <rendering>, <size>, <placement>, <options> and <legend> which you
would like to display on the map then click apply and then OK.
 Final map will be displayed.
RURAL AND URBAN POPULATION OF
BIHAR,
2011
Interpretation

As per the census of Bihar 2011, there a huge gap between the rural and urban population of
the districts of Bihar. This shows the low level of urbanization in the state. Every districts of
Bihar is having more rural population than urban population.

The percentage of Urban population is observed in Patna which is also the capital of the state.
Patna district has the highest level of urbanization (44.3 percent), apart from this, only two
districts- Munger (28.3 percent) and Nalanda (26.2 percent) have more than 25 percent
urbanization.

Samastipur has the lowest percentage of urban population which is only 3.5 percent of the
total population. Kaimur is at the second place with total percentage of 4 percent.

Conclusion
Urbanisation in Bihar seems to be utilitarian for the growth of the state. Urban places in Bihar
are independent of metropolis and autonomous in their interactions with other settlements,
whether local or global.

The urbanization of the state has increased very rapidly in the last ten years. According to the
2011 census, the level of urbanization in Bihar was just 11.3 percent, which has increased to
15.3 percent at present. North Bihar is poor in terms of urbanisation having only 8.02% living
in towns and cities but South Bihar is comparatively more urbanised than North Bihar.


 Chapter 4

MALE AND FEMALE POPULATION OF BIHAR,

2011

As per details from Census 2011, Bihar has population of 10.41 Crores, an increase from
figure of 8.30 Crore in 2001 census. Total population of Bihar as per latest census data is
104,099,452 of which male and female are 54,278,157 and 49,821,295 respectively. In 2001,
total population was 82,998,509 in which males were 43,243,795 while females were
39,754,714. The total population growth in this decade was 25.42 percent while in previous
decade it was 28.43 percent.

DISTRICTS MALE POPULATION FEMALE

POPULATION
Seikhpura 329743 306599

Sheohar 346673 309573

Arwal 363497 337346
Lakhisarai 526345 474567
Jahanabad 585582 539731
Munger 729041 638724
Kaimur 847006 779378
Kishangarh 866970 823430
Khagaria 883786 783100
Buxar 887997 818375
Jamui 916064 844341
Saharsa 997174 903487
Madhepura 1047559 954203
Nawada 1144668 1074478
Sapaul 1155283 1073793
Gopalganj 1267666 1294346
Aurangabad 1318684 1221389
Bhojpur 1430380 1298027
 Araria 1463333 1348236
Nalanda 1497060 1380593
Rohtas 1543546 1416372
Begusarai 1567660 1402881
Kathihar 1600430 1470599
Bhagalpur 1615663 1422103
Siwan 1675090 1655374
Purnia 1699370 1565249
Sitamarhi 1803252 1620322
Vishali 1844535 1650486
Saran 2022821 1929041
Banka 2034763 1067140
Darbhanga 2059949 1877436
West Champaran 2061110 1873932
Gaya 2266566 2124852
Madhubani 2329313 2158066
Muzaffarpur 2527497 2273565
East Champaran 2681209 2418162
Patna 3078512 2759953
Samastipur 4261566 2031563

Methodology
The bar outlet map technique has been used through QGIS software.

Before completing the overall layout, an attribute table must be prepared on the selected field
base on the given theme. After completing this, the below methods should be followed: -

 Right click on the vector layer and click on “Properties”.

 Right click on the vector layer and click on “Properties”.
 Click on diagrams
 Select “histogram” from the top right drop down menu.
 Select assigned attribute from the attribute table.
  Press apply and OK thereafter.
 Then select <rendering>, <size>, <placement>, <options> and <legend> which you
would like to display on the map then click apply and then OK.
 Final map will be displayed.

MALE AND FEMALE POPULATION OF

BIHAR,
 2011

Interpretation
As per the census of Bihar 2011 it is observed that almost every district of Bihar there is more
male population than female population which means that the sex ratio is low in every
districts of Bihar. There is a gap seen in the male and female population of the state.

Samastipur is having the highest number of males in the state and Seikhpura is having the
lowest male population in the state.

Gopalganj is having highest sex ratio which is 1021 female per1000 males. Siwan stands at
the second position with 958 females per 1000 males followed by Saran and Kishanganj with
954 and 950 females per males respectively.Munger is having the lowest sex ratio which is
876 females per 1000 male. Bhagalpur, Khagaria, Sheohar is at the 2 nd, 3rd and 4th place with
880, 886 and 893 females per 1000 males.

Conclusion
Acoording to the census of Bihar, 2011, there is a great disparity between the male and the
female population of the state. The highest male population is in the Samastipur district
which is 4261566 males and the lowest male population is in Seikhpura district which is
329743 males. The highest female population is observed in Patna which is 2759953and the
lowest female population is observed in Seikhpura which is 306599.
 Chapter 4

CONCLUSION
At the 2011 Census, Bihar was the third most populous state of India with total population of
104,099,452, nearly 89% of it rural. It was also India's most densely populated state, with
1,106 persons per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 918 females per 1000 males.

Patna is the biggest district in Bihar in terms of population this district has a total area of
3200 square kilometres and population 5,838,465 people whereas Sheikhpura is the least
populated district with total population of 636,342. On the other hand, the biggest district in
terms of area is West Champaran, which covers an area of 5,229 sq. kilometres and the
smallest district in terms of area is Sheohar. This district covers an area of only 443 sq.
kilometres.

The density of the state is 1102 per square kilometres. Sheohar district (1882 people per sq.
km) has the highest Population density in Bihar. Patna with the density of 1823 per sq. km is
in the second place. Kaimur District with a population density of 488 people per km has the
lowest density district in Bihar.

As per the census of Bihar 2011, there a huge gap between the rural and urban population of
the districts of Bihar. Patna district has the highest level of urbanization (44.3 percent), apart
from this, only two districts- Munger (28.3 percent) and Nalanda (26.2 percent) have more
than 25 percent urbanization. Samastipur has the lowest percentage of urban population
which is only 3.5 percent of the total population. Kaimur is at the second place with total
percentage of 4 percent. It is concluded that North Bihar is poor in terms of urbanisation
having only 8.02% living in towns and cities but South Bihar is comparatively more
urbanised than North Bihar.

Acoording to the census of Bihar, 2011, there is a great disparity between the male and the
female population of the state. The highest male population is in the Samastipur district
which is 4261566 males and the lowest male population is in Seikhpura district which is
329743 males. The highest female population is observed in Patna which is 2759953and the
lowest female population is observed in Seikhpura which is 306599.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 www.britannica.com

 www.census2011.co.in

 state.bihar.gov.in

 censusindia.gov.in