Geography Chapter 06: Population

The people are important to develop the economy and the society. The people make and use resources and are themselves resources with varying quality. Coal is but a piece of rock, until people were able to invent technology to obtain it and make it ‘resource’. Natural events, like a flood or a Tsunami, becomes a ‘disaster’ only when they affect a crowded village or a town.

Hence, population is the pivotal element in social studies. It is the point of reference from which all other elements are observed and from which they derive significance and meaning. ‘Resources’, ‘calamities’ and ‘disasters’ are all meaningful only in relation to human beings. Their numbers, distribution, growth and characteristics or qualities provide the basic background for understanding and appreciating all aspects of the environment.

Human beings are producers and consumers of earth’s resources. Therefore, it is important to know how many people are there in a country, where do they live, how and why their numbers are increasing and what are their characteristics. The census of India provides us with information regarding the population of our country.

Growth of population refers to the change in the number of inhabitants of a country or territory during a specific period of time, say during the last 10 years. Birth rate is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year. Death rate is the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year. Migration is the movement of people across regions and territories. Migration can be internal (within the country) or international (between the countries).

The age composition of a population refers to the number of people in different age groups in a country.