19-09-2012, 03:43 PM
INDIAN PEOPLE AND ECONOMY
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POPULATION
The people are very important component of a
country. India is the second most populous
country after China in the world with its total
population of 1,028 million (2001). India’s
population is larger than the total population
of North America, South America and Australia
put together. More often, it is argued that such
a large population invariably puts pressure
on its limited resources and is also responsible
for many socio-economic problems in the
country.
Distribution of Population
Examine Fig. 1.1 and try to describe the
patterns of spatial distribution of population
shown on it. It is clear that India has a highly
uneven pattern of population distribution. The
percentage shares of population of the states
and Union Territories in the country (Appendix–i)
show that Uttar Pradesh has the highest
population followed by Maharashtra, Bihar,
West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
Density of Population
Density of population, is expressed as number
of persons per unit area. It helps in getting a
better understanding of the spatial distribution
of population in relation to land. The density of
population in India (2001) is 313 persons per
sq km and ranks third among the most densely
populated countries of Asia following
Bangladesh (849 persons) and Japan (334
persons). There has been a steady increase of
about 200 persons per sq km over the last 50
years as the density of population increased
from 117 persons/ sq km in 1951 to 313
persons/sq km in 2001.
The data shown in Appendix (i) give an idea
of spatial variation of population densities in the
country which ranges from as low as 13 persons
per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to 9,340
persons in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Among the northern Indian States, West Bengal
(903), Bihar (880) and Uttar Pradesh (690) have
higher densities, while Kerala (819) and Tamil
Nadu (480) have higher densities among the
peninsular Indian states. States like Assam,
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand,
Orissa have moderate densities. The hill states
of the Himalayan region and North eastern states
of India (excluding Assam) have relatively low
densities while the Union Territories (excluding
Andaman and Nicobar islands) have very high
densities of population (Fig. 1.2).
Regional Variation in Population Growth
The growth rate of population during 1991-
2001 in Indian States and Union Territories
shows very obvious pattern.
The States like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Pondicherry,
and Goa show a low rate of growth not exceeding
20 per cent over the decade. Kerala registered
the lowest growth rate (9.4) not only in this group
of states but also in the country as a whole.
A continuous belt of states from west to
east in the north-west, north , and north central
parts of the country has relatively high growth
rate than the southern states. It is in this belt
comprising Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal,
Madhya Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, West Bengal,
Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, the growth
rate on the average remained 20-25 per cent.
Population Composition
Population composition is a distinct field of
study within population geography with a vast
coverage of analysis of age and sex, place of
residence, ethnic characteristics, tribes,
language, religion, marital status, literacy and
education, occupational characteristics, etc. In
this section, the composition of Indian
population with respect to their rural-urban
characteristics, language, religion and pattern
of occupation will be discussed.