(Unit 9) Demographic & Census 2011

Indian Geography (Unit 9-Topic 1) 

Demographic

Introduction:

Young people in a country matter most because they have inherent human qualities that must be upheld. According to the State of The World Population Report prepared by the UNFPA, many of the countries with the largest portions of youth today are among the poorest in the world, but they are on the cusp of the demographic transition that can yield a demographic dividend. 

What is demographic Dividend?

• The economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population's age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population, 15 to 64, is larger than the non-working age share of the Population, 14 and younger or 65 and older. 

• Potential can be enormous, provided supportive economic, policies are in place and investments in human capital, particularly of young people, are substantial and strategic.

• Without a solid economic and policy framework to back it up, the demographic dividend may not be fully realized. 

Why demographic Dividend?

Demographic Transition begins as fertility and mortality rates start to fall, leaving fewer dependents. More people, proportionally, are in the workforce. The dividend comes as resources are freed for economic development, and for greater per capita spending on higher quality health and education services 

What is Demographic Transition? 

• This means a shift from high fertility and mortality to, low fertility and mortality. 

• During the early stages of the demographic transition, mortality rates among children fall, mainly because of interventions such as safe water and sanitation. 

• Better health for children improves the chances for their survival. 

Long-term impacts of demographic transition: 

• When child survival improves, parents typically feel more confident about having smaller families, and this contributes to a gradual reduction in fertility rates, the next stage of the demographic transition. 

• Fewer children mean more resources are available to invest in ways that can raise household income over the long term. 

• Over time, the children born during the early stage of the demographic transition mature and reach working age.As the proportion of working population increases, there is greater per capita economic income. 

• As fertility rates fall more women are able to participate in the labour force. 

• When there are fewer people to support, a country, has an opportunity for rapid, economic growth, provided the right social and economic policies and investments are in place. 

Low Fertility: Key to Realize Demographic Dividend

• If women are allowed to exercise their reproductive rights, it enhances the health of women and their children and helps build human capital among women, especially those who are poor or less educated, and increases their income-earning.

• Lower fertility is also associated with improvements in maternal health, by reducing the number of times women are exposed to the odds of dying in childbirth. 

• Ensuring young women's access to voluntary family planning has the greatest impact on educational attainment and lifetime earnings. 

• Increasing women's ability to plan their births was also associated with substantial improvements in their children's education and socio-economic success and eventual wages. 

• Family size also affects investment in children. Studies in China and India found that lower fertility is associated with-better child health and schooling. 

• Lower fertility has also been shown to mitigate the shortage of land and jobs in poorer countries. 

Census 2011 | The basics and summary of important findings

What is the census?

Census is nothing but a process of collecting, compiling, analyzing, evaluating, publishing and disseminating statistical data regarding the population. It covers demographic, social and economic data and are provided as of a particular date.

When was the first census in India held?

Census operations started in India long back during the period of the Maurya dynasty. It was systematized during the years 1865 to 1872, though it has been conducted uninterruptedly from the year 1881 being a trustworthy resource of information.

Why is the census important?

1. The Indian Census is the most credible source of information on Demography (Population characteristics), Economic Activity, Literacy and Education, Housing & Household Amenities, Urbanisation, Fertility and Mortality, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Language, Religion, Migration, Disability and many other socio-cultural and demographic data since 1872. Census 2011 is the 15th National Census of the Country. This is the only source of primary data in the village , town and ward level, It provides valuable information for planning and formulation policies for Central and the State Governments and is widely used by National and International Agencies, scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more.

2. The delimitation/reservation of Constituencies – Parliamentary/Assembly/Panchayats and other Local Bodies is also done on the basis of the demographic data thrown up by the Census. Census is the basis for reviewing the country’s progress in the past decade, monitoring the ongoing Schemes of the Government and most importantly, plan for the future.

Key findings of 2011 census

Source

1. Population –

• India’s total population stands at 1.21 billion, which is 17.7 per cent more than the last decade, and growth of females was higher than that of males.
• There was an increase of 90.97 million males and increase of 90.99 million females. The growth rate of females was 18.3 per cent which is higher than males — 17.1 per cent. India’s population grew by 17.7 per cent during 2001-11, against 21.5 per cent in the previous decade.
• Among the major states, highest decadal growth in population has been recorded in Bihar (25.4 per cent) while 14 states and Union Territories have recorded population growth above 20 per cent.

2. Rural and urban population –

• Altogether, 833.5 million persons live in rural area as per Census 2011, which was more than two-third of the total population, while 377.1 million persons live in urban areas. Urban proportion has gone up from 17.3 per cent in 1951 to 31.2 per cent in 2011. Empowered Action Group (EAG) states have lower urban proportion (21.1 per cent) in comparison to non-EAG states (39.7 per cent).
• Highest proportion of urban population is in NCT Delhi (97.5 per cent). Top five states in share of urban population are Goa (62.2 per cent), Mizoram (52.1 per cent), Tamil Nadu (48.4 per cent), Kerala (47.7 per cent) and Maharashtra (45.2 per cent).

3. Literacy –

• Literacy rate in India in 2011 has increased by 8 per cent to 73 per cent in comparison to 64.8 per cent in 2001.
• While male literacy rate stands at 80.9 per cent – which is 5.6 per cent more than the previous census, the female literacy rate stands at 64.6 per cent — an increase of 10.9 per cent than 2001.
• The highest increase took place in Dadra and Nagar Haveli by 18.6 points (from 57.6 per cent to 76.2 per cent), Bihar by 14.8 points (from 47.0 per cent to 61.8 per cent), Tripura by 14.0 points (from 73.2 per cent to 87.2 per cent)
• Improvement in female literacy is higher than males in all states and UTs, except Mizoram (where it is same in both males and females) during 2001-11.
• The gap between literacy rate in urban and rural areas is steadily declining in every census. Gender gap in literacy rate is steadily declining in every census. In Census 2011, the gap stands at 16.3 points.
• Top five states and UTs, where literacy rate is the highest, are Kerala (94 per cent), Lakshadweep (91.8 per cent), Mizoram (91.3 per cent), Goa (88.7 per cent) and Tripura (87.2).
• The bottom five states and UTs are Bihar (61.8 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (65.4 per cent), Rajasthan (66.1 per cent), Jharkhand (66.4 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (67 per cent).

4. Density –

• The density of population in the country has also increased from 325 in 2001 to 382 in 2011 in per sq km. Among the major states, Bihar occupies the first position with a density of 1106, surpassing West Bengal which occupied the first position during 2001.
• Delhi (11,320) turns out to be the most densely inhabited followed by Chandigarh (9,258), among all states and UT’s, both in 2001 and 2011 Census. The minimum population density works out in Arunachal Pradesh (17) for both 2001 and 2011 Census.

5. Sex ratio –

• The sex ratio of population in the country in 2011 stands at 940 female against 1000 males, which is 10 per cent more than the last census when the number female per thousand male stood at 933. Haryana has the dubious distinction of having the worst male-female ratio among all states while Kerala fares the best.
• The number of females per 1000 males in Haryana in 2011 stands at 879 followed by Jammu and Kashmir (889 female) and Punjab (895 females).
• The other two worst-performing states in terms of skewed sex ration are Uttar Pradesh (912 females) and Bihar (918 females).
• Five top performing states in terms of sex ratio were Kerala (1,084 females), Tamil Nadu (996), Andhra Pradesh (993), Chhattisgarh (991), Odisha (979).

6. Child population –

• Child population in the age of 0 to 6 years has seen an increase of 0.4 per cent to 164.5 million in 2011 from 163.8 million in 2001.
• The child population (0-6) is almost stationary. In 17 states and UTs, the child population has declined in 2011 compared to 2001.
• With the declaration of sex ratio in the age group 0-6, the Census authorities tried to bring out the recent changes in the society in its attitude and outlook towards the girl child. It was also an indicator of the likely future trends of sex ratio in the population.
• There has been a decline of 8 per cent in the sex ratio of 0-6 age group. In 2011, the child sex ratio (0-6) stands at 919 female against 1000 male in comparison to 927 females in 2001.
• Male child (0-6) population has increased whereas female child population has decreased during 2001-11. Eight states, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Meghalaya have proportion of child population more than 15 per cent.
• The worst performing states in regard to sex ration in the age group of 0 to 6 years are Haryana (834 females), Punjab (846), Jammu and Kashmir (862), Rajasthan (888) and Gujarat (890).
• The best performing states are Chhattisgarh (969), Kerala (964), Assam (962), West Bengal (956) Jharkhand (948) and Karnataka (948).

7. SC/ST data –

• According to the Census, Scheduled Castes are notified in 31 states and UTs and Scheduled Tribes in 30 states. There are altogether 1,241 individual ethnic groups, etc. notified as SC’s in different states and UT’s.
• The number of individual ethnic groups, etc. notified as ST’s is 705. There has been some changes in the list of SC’s/ST’s in states and UT’s during the last decade.
• The SC population in India now stands at 201.4 million, which is 20 per cent more than the last census. The ST population stands at 104.3 million in 2011 – 23.7 per cent more than 2001.

8. Religious demographics – The religious data on India Census 2011 was released by the Government of India on 25 August 2015. Hindus are 79.8% (966.3 million), while Muslims are 14.23% (172.2 million) in India. For the first time, a “No religion” category was added in the 2011 census. 2.87 million Were classified as people belonging to “No Religion” in India in the 2011 census. – 0.24% of India’s population of 1.21 billion. Given below is the decade-by-decade religious composition of India till the 2011 census. There are six religions in India that have been awarded “National Minority” status – Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis.

9. Median marriage age – The median age increased for men – from 22.6 (2001) to 23.5 (2011) and for women – from 18.2 (2001) to 19.2 (2011)

Source