Class 9 NCERT Population Geography
Topic: Population of India
Very Short Answer Type Questions. [1 Mark]
- Define demography.
Ans. Demography refers to the study of population in all its aspects. - Name the most populous state of India.
Ans. The most populous state of India is Uttar Pradesh having 16 per cent of India’s population. - Which state is the least populous state in India?
Ans. The least populous state in Sikkim having 0.6 million people. - Name the least populous union territory of India.
Ans. The least populous union territory is Lakshadweep with 64,429 people. - How much of India’s population reside in Rajasthan?
Ans. Rajasthan is the largest state in terms of the area has only 6% of India’s population. - What is the density of population?
Ans. The density of population refers to the number of people living in one square kilometre or a unit area. - What is India’s population density?
Ans. The population density of India in the year 2011 was 382 persons per sq.km. - Which is the most densely populated state in India?
Ans. The most densely populated state is Bihar with 1,102 persons per sq.km. - Name the least populated state in India.
Ans. The least densely populated state in Arunachal Pradesh with 17 persons per sq.km. - Which state has the lowest population?
Ans. Sikkim - Who is considered as resource creating factor as well as resources themselves?
Ans. Human beings. - Why is it important to know/study about human population, their occupation, their characteristics, etc?
Ans. Because human beings are both producers and consumers of resources. - Which is the most populous state of India?
Ans. Uttar Pradesh - India accounts for what percentage of the world population?
Ans. About 16.7 per cent. - What is population growth?
Ans. The change in the number of inhabitants of a country during a specific period of time
is referred to as population growth. - What do you mean by the rate or pace of population increase per year?
Ans. Annual growth rate - What has been noticed in population growth since 1981?
Ans. The rate of growth of population started declining gradually.
18. Which movement of the people across regions and territories does not change the size of the population?
Ans. Internal
19. What is the rank of India among the population of different countries of the world?
Ans. Second
20. Name three countries with high density.
Ans. India is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Bangladesh and Japan are the two countries having a higher average density of population than India.
Short Answer Type Questions. [3 Marks]
1. Why are humans important resource in the development of society and the economy?
Ans. Because they exploit natural resources and consume natural resources.
People are assets to a nation, as they possess a varying quality that contributes to the development of the country.
Resources are meaningful only with reference to human beings.
2. What is Census?
Ans. Census is the official collection of population data conducted once in 10 years in India.
Indian census is the most comprehensive source of demographic, social and economic data. The first census was conducted in 1872, and after independence, it was done in 1951. The last census year was in 2011.
3. What do we study in population geography?
Ans. In population geography, we study the following:
• Population size and distribution.
• Population growth and processes of population change.
• Characteristics or qualities of the population.
4. What are India’s population size and distribution?
Ans. According to Census 2011, India’s population was 1.21 billion accounting for 17.5 per cent of the world population. India is the second-most populous country in the world, next to China.
5. List the top five states with more than half of India’s population according to the 2011 census.
Ans. Top five states having about half of India’s population, according to 2011 census, are:
1. Uttar Pradesh 16%
2. Maharashtra 9%
3. Bihar 9%
4. West Bengal 8%
5. Andhra Pradesh 7%
6. Why do some states have high density?
Ans. Some state like Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala have a high density of population because most of these states are located in the Northern Plains, which are agriculturally very productive due to fertile alluvial soil, favourable climate, good irrigation, cheap labour and agro-based industries.
7. Which states are regions of moderate density?
Ans. Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and other states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Assam have a moderate density of population.
It is because of the uneven and rugged terrain, low to moderate rainfall and medium fertile soils.
8. Which are the states with a low density of population? Why?
Ans. Jammu Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Northeastern states, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have low densities. It is because of hilly, rugged terrain, unfavourable climate and lack of agricultural and industrial development and poor infrastructure.
9. What is population growth and processes of population change?
Ans. The population is a dynamic phenomenon. It keeps changing in terms of numbers, distribution and composition of the population. It is mainly due to the interaction of the three processes like births, deaths and migration.
10. Why has the rate of population growth declined from since 1981?
Ans. Since 1981, the rate of population growth has declined from 23.87 per cent to 17.64 per cent. This is due to the declining birth rate, which is the indicator of the efforts of birth control. Even so, India will surpass China in 2045 to become the most populous country in the world.
11. ‘Census has primarily concerned with which three questions about the population.’ Explain.
Ans. The three major concerns of study about the population of a country are –
(i) size and distribution of population,
(ii) population growth and processes of population change, and
(iii) characteristics or qualities of the population.
12. The population is a pivotal element in social studies. Support your answer giving three points.
Ans. The population is pivotal because:
(i) It is only because of people that terms such as ‘resources’, ‘calamities’ and ‘disasters’ are meaningful.
(ii) The numbers, growth, distribution, characteristics or qualities of the people are the basic background for the understanding population.
(iii) People are the point of reference from which all other aspects are studied and from which they get their meaning and importance.
13. Describe the three population density zones of India.
Ans. The three population density zones of India are as follows:
(i) High-density zone: Areas of the Northern Plains, above 500 people per sq.km.
(ii) Moderate density zone: Mountainous regions with 250–500 people per sq.km.
(i) Low-density zone: Plateau regions with people below 250 people per sq.km.
14. ‘There has been a sudden abrupt rise in population of India since 1951.’ Support the statement with reasons.
Ans. Health is an important component of population composition. Efforts made in this direction since 1951 saw significant improvements in the form of decline in death rate and life expectancy at birth increased. All these resulted in an abrupt rise in India’s population from 361 million in 1951 to 1210 in 2011. It also shows that from 1951 to 1981, the annual growth rate in India grew steadily.
Since 1981, the rate of growth started declining gradually. However, despite the decline in growth ratio, the number of people being added every decade was steadily increasing. Thus, 182 million people were added to the total population in the 1990s alone, which was an annual addition larger than ever before.
15. List three reasons that are responsible for uneven population distribution in India.
Ans. These are:
(i) Variations in topography or relief in different parts of India.
(ii) Variations in climate and rainfall distribution, and
(iii) Variations in the rate of industrialisation and urbanisation.
16. What are the reasons for the decrease in death rate in India after independence?
Ans. The main cause of the rate of growth of the Indian population since independence has been the rapid decline in the death rate. The main reasons behind this decrease in death rate 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 childcare programmes.
(v) Extension of hospitals, modern medical practices in the 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.
17. Discuss the reasons for the very low population in Arunachal Pradesh.
Ans. Arunachal Pradesh, the extreme north-eastern state of India, has a very low population of 10.97 lakhs. The state has a population density of only 17 persons per sq. km. Most of the state is hilly and forested. The climate is harsh with low average temperature. Rugged terrain and unfavourable climatic conditions have resulted in sparse population in this state. As a result, the population density of the state is also very low.
Map Work
18. In the outline map of India, mark and label the following:
(a) States having a population density of 250 and below.
(b) States having a population density of 251–500
(c) States having a population density of 501–750
(d) States having a population density of 751–1000
(e) States having a population density of 1000 and above.
Ans.
19. In the following outline map of India, mark the following:
(a) One state in north India has the highest population in the country.
(b) A southern state of high population density.
(c) A city where the population is more than 1000 per square km.
Ans.
