Economics · Ch 2 — Demography and Human Resource Development
The Census of India and Demographic Transition Theory
The Census of India and Demographic Transition Theory
The Census of India
The Census of India is the primary and most comprehensive source of demographic data in the country. It is a decadal (once-every-ten-years) head-count of the entire population, conducted under the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, under the authority of the Census Act, 1948. India's census tradition goes back to a synchronous all-India census first held in 1881 under British rule, and it has continued every ten years since, including after independence — the 1951 Census being the first conducted by independent India. The most recent completed Census was in 2011; the next scheduled decadal Census was delayed beyond its usual 2021 date. Census data covers population size, age-sex composition, literacy, occupation, migration, religion, language, and housing conditions, and remains the benchmark against which other surveys (such as the National Family Health Survey) are compared — a fact worth remembering for TS Inter II year Economics examinations that often ask students to quote Census-based figures.
Demographic Transition Theory
Demographic Transition Theory explains how a country's birth and death rates change as it develops economically, moving through three broad stages:
| Stage | Birth Rate | Death Rate | Population Growth | Typical Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 — High Stationary | High | High | Low / Stagnant | Both birth and death rates are high (disease, famine, poor healthcare) and roughly cancel out, so population grows very slowly. Characteristic of pre-industrial societies. |
| Stage 2 — Expanding | Remains High | Falls Rapidly | Rapid Growth | Death rates fall quickly due to improved medicine, sanitation, and food supply, while birth rates stay high for longer since social attitudes change slowly — this gap causes rapid population growth. |
| Stage 3 — Low Stationary | Falls | Low | Slow / Stable | Birth rates eventually fall to match low death rates as education, urbanisation, and family planning spread, so population growth stabilises at a low level. |
A complete, decadal enumeration of a country's population conducted by the government; in India it is carried out by the Registrar General and Cen …
The historical shift of a population from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops economically and socially, typicall …