India: Population

About this unit

This unit examines India's population: its distribution and density, its growth over the twentieth century and after, its composition by language, religion, residence and occupation, and its regional variations. India is one of the most populous countries in the world, so understanding its population is central to planning for food, jobs, education and health.

Key ideas

• India's population is unevenly distributed, with high densities in the northern plains and coastal areas and low densities in mountainous, arid and forested regions.
• Population growth in India passed through distinct phases, with 1921 seen as the year of demographic divide.
• India's growth rate has been slowing since the 1980s, but regional differences remain large.
• India has great linguistic and religious diversity; languages belong to four major families.
• Composition also covers rural-urban residence, literacy, sex ratio and occupational structure.

How to prepare

Learn the four phases of population growth with their time spans and reasons. Remember stable Census 2011 facts such as national density and sex ratio, and which states rank highest and lowest. Practise simple calculations of density and growth rate.