Population Composition

Why Population Composition Matters

Population composition is the study of who makes up a population — not just how many people there are, but their age, sex, where they live, what language they speak, their religion, literacy, occupation, and more. For a country as diverse as India, understanding this composition is essential to grasp its social and economic realities. The NCERT textbook focuses on four key aspects: rural-urban distribution, language, religion, and the working population.

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Rural–Urban Composition

Where people live — village or city — is a powerful indicator of a society’s character. In India, the 2011 Census tells us that 68.8 per cent of the total population lives in villages. That is a deeply rural nation, but the picture is not uniform.

The rural side:

• India has 640,867 villages as per Census 2011, of which 597,608 (93.2 per cent) are inhabited.
• States like Himachal Pradesh and Bihar have a very high percentage of rural population.
• In contrast, Goa and Mizoram have only just over half their population in villages.
• Among Union Territories, most have a small rural share — except Dadra and Nagar Haveli, where 53.38 per cent of people live in villages.
• Village size varies enormously: from fewer than 200 persons in the hill states of north-eastern India, western Rajasthan, and the Rann of Kutch, to as many as 17,000 persons in parts of Kerala and Maharashtra.

What drives these differences? The relative degree of urbanisation and the extent of rural-urban migration regulate the concentration of rural population, both within a state and between states.

The urban side:

• The proportion of urban population in India is 31.16 per cent (2011) — low compared to many countries, but growing fast.
• This growth is driven by enhanced economic development and improvements in health and hygiene.
• Urbanisation has increased in almost all states and Union Territories, reflecting both socio-economic development and a rising rate of rural-urban migration.

Where does rural-urban migration happen most?

It is conspicuous along:

• Main road links and railroads in the North Indian Plains
• Industrial areas around Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru–Mysuru, Madurai–Coimbatore, Ahmedabad–Surat, Delhi–Kanpur, and Ludhiana–Jalandhar

Where is urbanisation low?

In agriculturally stagnant parts of the middle and lower Ganga Plains, Telangana, non-irrigated western Rajasthan, remote hilly and tribal areas of the north-east, flood-prone areas of Peninsular India, and the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh.

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Linguistic Composition

India is a land of extraordinary linguistic diversity. According to Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India (1903–1928), there were 179 languages and 544 dialects in the country. Today, India has about 22 scheduled languages and many non-scheduled ones. (Look at a Rs 10 note — you will see many of them listed.)

Which languages have the most speakers?

• Among scheduled languages, Hindi has the highest percentage of speakers.
• The smallest language groups are Sanskrit, Bodo, and Manipuri (2011).

An important point: Linguistic regions in India do not have sharp, distinct boundaries. They gradually merge and overlap in their frontier zones.

Language families of India:

The speakers of major Indian languages belong to four language families, each with sub-families and branches:

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Religious Composition

Religion deeply influences the cultural and political life of most Indians. It permeates family and community life, so studying religious composition is essential.

Religious communities of India (2011 Census):

Spatial distribution:

• Hindus are the majority in most states (70–90 per cent and above), except in districts along the Indo-Bangladesh border, Indo-Pak border, Jammu & Kashmir, hill states of the north-east, and scattered areas of the Deccan Plateau and Ganga Plain.
• Muslims, the largest religious minority, are concentrated in Jammu & Kashmir, certain districts of West Bengal and Kerala, many districts of Uttar Pradesh, in and around Delhi, and Lakshadweep. They form a majority in the Kashmir valley and Lakshadweep.
• Christians are mostly rural, concentrated along the western coast (Goa, Kerala), and in the hill states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, the Chotanagpur area, and the hills of Manipur.
• Sikhs are concentrated in a relatively small area — mainly Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi.
• Jains are mostly urban, with major concentrations in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
• Buddhists are concentrated mostly in Maharashtra, with other areas of Buddhist majority being Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh (Jammu & Kashmir), Tripura, and Lahul and Spiti (Himachal Pradesh).
• Other religions include Zoroastrians, tribal and indigenous faiths, scattered in small pockets across the country.

Religion and landscape:

Religions leave their mark on the landscape through sacred structures — from small village shrines to large Hindu temples, monumental mosques, ornately designed cathedrals, gurudwaras, and monasteries. These structures differ in size, form, space-use, and density, giving a special character to the areas where they are found.

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Composition of Working Population

The Census divides India’s population by economic status into three groups: main workers, marginal workers, and non-workers.

• Main worker: A person who works for at least 183 days (six months) in a year.
• Marginal worker: A person who works for less than 183 days in a year.

Key fact: In 2011, only 39.8 per cent of India’s population were workers (main + marginal). That means about 60 per cent are non-workers — a very large dependent population, which suggests widespread unemployment or underemployment.

Work participation rate varies widely across states and Union Territories — from about 29.1 per cent in Lakshadweep to 51.9 per cent in Himachal Pradesh. States with higher work participation rates include Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya. Among Union Territories, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have higher rates.

A key insight: In a country like India, work participation tends to be higher in areas with lower levels of economic development — because more manual workers are needed for subsistence or near-subsistence activities.

Occupational structure (2011 Census):

The Census divides workers into four categories:

1. Cultivators
2. Agricultural Labourers
3. Household Industrial Workers
4. Other Workers

The data shows a heavy dependence on the primary sector: