GEOGRAPHY - POPULATION

VERY SHORTS
1. Death rate is the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year.
2. Birth rate is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year.
3. Migration is the movement of people across regions and territories. Migration can be internal and
international.
4. There are two type of factors responsible for migration-
a. Push factor – these are adverse conditions of poverty and unemployment in the rural areas.
b. Pull factor – of the city in terms of increased employment opportunities and better living conditions.
5. A Census is an official enumeration of population done periodically. In India, the first census was held in the
year 1872.
6. The population density of India in 2011 was 382 persons per square kilometre.
7. Only Bangladesh and Japan have higher average population densities than India.
8. 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.
9. Indian government introduced a comprehensive Family Planning Programme in 1952.
10. Adolescents are generally, grouped in the age group of 10 to 19 years.
11. (i) – Population growth refers to the change in the number of inhabitants of a country or territory during a
specific period of time, generally during the last ten years expressed in percentage.
(ii) – Population change refers to the change in the distribution, composition or size of population during a
specific period of time. It is expressed in the addition of numbers of people.
12. Significant features of the National Population Policy –
a. The NPP 2000 provides a policy framework for imparting free and compulsory school
education up to 14 years of age.
b. It emphasis on reducing Infant Mortality Rate to below 30 per 1000 live births.
c. It also focuses on achieving universal immunisation of children against all vaccine preventable
diseases.
d. It promotes delayed marriage for girls and making family welfare a people-centred
programme.
13. There are few major problems faced by adolescents in India –
a. The diet available to adolescents is inadequate in all nutrients.
b. A large number of girls suffer from anaemia.
c. Their problems have so far not received adequate attention in the process of development.
The adolescent girls have to be sensitised to the problems they confront.
14. There are three main processes of change of population: Birth rate, Death rate and Migration
a. Birth rate is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year.
b. Death rate is the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year.
c. Migration is the movement of people across regions and territories. Migration can be internal and
international.
Migration is having two detrimental factors – Push factor and Pull factor.
d. Migration is an important determinant of population change.
e. It changes not only the population size but also the population composition of urban and rural
populations in terms of age and sex composition. In India, the rural-urban migration has resulted in a
steady increase in the percentage of population in cities and towns.
15. Such a change can be expressed in two ways: in terms of absolute numbers and in terms of percentage change
per year.
The absolute numbers added each year or decade is the magnitude of increase. It is obtained by simply
subtracting the earlier population (e.g. that of 1991) from the later population (e.g. that of 2001). It is referred
to as the absolute increase.
The rate or the pace of population increase is the other important aspect. It is studied in per cent per
annum, e.g. a rate of increase of 2 per cent per annum means that in a given year, there was an increase of
two persons for every 100 persons in the base population.
16. The 2001 Census data reveals that Uttar Pradesh with a population size of 166 million people is the most
populous state of India. Uttar Pradesh accounts for about 16 per cent of the country.
On the other hand, the Himalayan state Sikkim has a population of just about 0.5 million and
Lakshadweep has only 60 thousand people. Almost half of India’s population lives in just five states. These are
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh. Rajasthan, the biggest state in terms of
area, has only 5.5 per cent of the total population of India.
The states with population densities below 250 persons per square km. Rugged terrain and
unfavourable climatic conditions are primarily responsible for sparse population in these areas.
Assam and most of the Peninsular states have moderate population densities. Hilly, dissected and
rocky nature of the terrain, moderate to low rainfall, shallow and less fertile soils have influenced population
densities in these areas.
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. Identify the three states of the Northern Plains with high
population densities.
17. population is the pivotal element in social studies. It is the point of reference from which all other elements
are observed and from which they derive significance and meaning.
‘Resources’, ‘calamities’ and ‘disasters’ are all meaningful only in relation to human beings.
Their numbers, distribution, growth and characteristics or qualities provide the basic background for
understanding and appreciating all aspects of the environment.
Human beings are producers and consumers of earth’s resources.
Therefore, it is important to know how many people are there in a country, where do they live, how
and why their numbers are increasing and what are their characteristics.