Population size and distribution - Concepts - Chapter 6 Class 9 Geography - Population - Geography

POPULATION SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION  

I ndia’s Population Size and Distribution by Numbers 

• India’s population as on March 2011 stood at 1,210.6 million, which accounts for 17.5 percent of the world’s population.
  
  
• These 1.21 billion people are unevenly distributed over our country ’s vast area of 3.28 million square km, which accounts for 2.4 percent of the world’s area.
  
  
• Uttar Pradesh accounts for about 16 percent of the country’s population.
  
  
• The Himalayan state of Sikkim has a population of just about 0 .6 million and Lakshadweep has only 64,429 people.
  
  
•  Almost half of India’s population lives in just five states-Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh.
  
  
•  Rajasthan, the biggest state in terms of area, has only 5.5 percent of the total population of India.

India’s Population Distribution by Density

•  Population density provides a better picture of uneven distribution.
  
  
•  Population density is calculated as the number of persons per unit area.
  
  
•  India is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
  
  
• Note the States with population densities below 250 persons per square km.
  
  
• Rugged terrain and unfavorable climatic conditions are primarily responsible for the sparse population in these areas.
  
  
• Assam and most of the Peninsular states have moderate population densities.
  
  
• The Hilly, dissected, and rocky nature of the terrain, moderate to low rainfall, and 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.