MANAV RACHNA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
EROS GARDEN, CHARMWOOD, FARIDABAD
GRADE: IX
CHAPTER 6 – POPULATION
SAMPLE ANSWRERS
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1. Why is it important to study about population of a country? Explain.
Ans: Population is an important resource as it is the human resources that ultimately affect the progress of a
country. Its qualitative aspects like literacy and life expectancy contribute to the economic and social
progress of a nation. More educated the population, the more the skill supply which will be used by
industries to manufacture products. Apart from that, it will lead to more development of technology. This
will eventually contribute to the economic prosperity of the country. Moreover, the government frames
policies for the upliftment of specific section of the population.
2. What is census?
Ans: A census is an official survey of the population of a country that is carried out in order to find out how
many people live there and to obtain details of such things as people's ages and jobs.
3. Describe the population of India by its size.
Ans: According to records of 2001, the population of India was 1,028 million, which forms 16.7 per cent of
the world's population.
This population is distributed unevenly over 3.28 million square kilometres, which is only 2.4 per cent of the
world's area.
Half of the Indian population is living in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and
Andhra Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh has 16% of the country's population. The mountainous state of Sikkim has 0.5% population of
the country. Lakshadweep has just 60 thousand people living here. Rajasthan is the largest state of India yet
has only 5.5% of the population.
4. What are the factors that affect the distribution of population?
Ans: a. Climate – Population density is higher in areas with pleasant climate as compared to those with
extreme climatic conditions.
b. Topography – Plains have higher population density as compared to hills and plateaus. This is due to
pleasant climate, availability of water, ease of construction of industries, transport network etc.
c. Availability of water – Water is required for cultivation, daily needs etc. Hence, more people stay in areas
with easy availability of water
d. Availability of fertile soil – Fertile soil promotes agriculture and attracts more people to a particular place
e. Transport network – People prefer to stay in places that are well connected rather than in remote areas
f. Job opportunities – Areas with better job opportunities attract more people and hence the density of
population to those areas will increase.
5. What do you understand by population change? Explain its processes.
Ans: Population change is simply the change in the number of people in a specified area during a specific
time period.
There are three main processes of change of population: birth rates, death rates and migration.
a. Birth rate is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year. It is a major component of
growth because in India, birth rates have always been higher than death rates.
b. Death rate is the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year. The main cause of the rate of
growth of the Indian population has been the rapid decline in death rates.
c. Migration is the movement of people across regions and territories. Migration can be internal (within
the country) or international (between the countries).
6. Inspite of a decline in the growth rate of population, India’s total population is still increasing.
Analyze.
Ans: Since 1981, the rate of growth of population in India has started declining gradually. During this
period, birth rates declined rapidly. Still 182 million people were added to the total population in the 1990s
alone (an annual addition larger than ever before). It is essential to realise that India has a very large
population. When a low annual rate is applied to a very large population, it yields a large absolute increase.
When more than a billion people increase even at a lower rate, the total number being added becomes very
large. India’s annual increase in population is large enough to neutralise efforts to conserve the resource
endowment and environment.
7. Describe push & pull factors that affect migration from rural to urban areas.
Ans: In India, most migrations have been from rural to urban areas because of the “push” factor in rural
areas. These are adverse conditions of poverty and unemployment in the rural areas and the “pull” of the city
in terms of increased employment opportunities and better living conditions.
Push factors:
These factors force the people to move out of a place.
These are negative factors associated with the current place or nation in which a person lives.
Some of the push factors are worsening climate, unstable government and lack of job opportunities.
These factors are present in the place of origin of a migrant.
Pull factors:
These are certain positive factors associated with the new place, that people are moving into.
Some of the pull factors are better standard of living, educational centres and better job opportunities.
These factors are present in the place of destination.
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING MAPS & PASTE THEM IN YOUR NOTEBOOK
Map 1
Map 2
