cannot really be called as “theory” rather they would prefer to call it generalised

implications.*Although various theorists have tried to scrutinise the theory of demographic

transition with a critical viewpoint, this theory has been recognised as the most acceptable theory
of studying the trend of population growth.

UNIT 7: DEMOGRAPHY AND URBANIZATION

7.3 DEMOGRAPHY AND URBANIZATION The term Demography,as we have already learned in the
first unit of this course, was coined from two Greek words (demos meaning people, and graphein
meaning to write or describe). Demography refers to the study of population. It aims at collecting
and compiling, analysing and understanding the size and density, fertility and mortality of a
population in a given geographical location. It also studies the growth and age distribution,
migration and vital statistics of a given population, and analyze how all these aspects are related to
the social and economic conditions of the society. Demography in simplest sense hence is the
statistical analysis of population data whose subject matter broadly focuses on: * Examination of
the total size of population * Examination of population distribution in rural/urban areas. *
Examination of the structure of population particularly age and sex composition * Examination of
changes in population over time i.e. growth or decline in population. * Examination of the causes
and effects of population change. Urbanization on the other hand is a process of growth and
development of urban areas due to continuous migration of people from rural to urban areas.
When more and more people come to live in cities or in towns, the process can be called as
urbanization. Various scholars have given definitions of urbanization. It involves not the only
movement from villages to cities and change from agricultural occupation to business, trade,
service, and profession but it also involves changes in the migrants’ attitudes, beliefs values, and
behaviour patterns”. Urbanization has been an ongoing and a universal process. It is a global
process, which has been assumed to shape the future of humanity in the coming eras. Never did
once in history has the process of urbanization stopped or has halted; never probably it is going to
halt in the future. It is a process, which has dominated civilization’s growth pattern since
generations and also now. Now let us understand the relationship between Demography and
Urbanisation: Demography has an intrinsic relationship with urbanization. Demographic transition
in a region and in an upward direction often results in urbanization. Demographic transition both
naturally and through migration enhances the process the urbanization of a region. In fact, to
measure the rate and pace of urbanization, demography acts as an important variable. Without
analyzing the variable demography, analysis of urbanization can never become comprehensive and
authentic. Geographers and demographers often use a demographic approach to urbanization, to
measure the pace and extent of urbanization and also to understand the nature of urbanization.
According to this approach, processes of urbanization are the result of an increase in population
and population density in a particular area. This approach aids in estimating the proportion of the
population living in urban areas; it also estimates the percentage of population growth and the
differences that exist between the rural and urban populations of a region or country at a given
point of time. Urbanization and demographic changes hence are linked to one another and study of
relation between the two can predict the trends of urbanization in a region or in a country
what type of changes have taken place within a given period of time and pace of the urban growth
can be drawn.

FACTORS OF URBANIZATION The world at present is going through a pace of rapid urbanization. It
has been predicted that more than half of world population are going to become urbanites in the
coming decades. As per the predictions of the UN reports, “By 2050 about 64.1% of the population
of the developing countries and 85.9% of the developed countries are going to become urbanized”.
This clearly indicates that the coming centuries will be the centuries of urbanization. Urbanization
though has speeded up massively in the last two to three decades, the process has been in
operation since long back, and continues to determine and re-determine human’s fates and
destinies and their survival and civilization. The factors of urbanization are many and they vary
from region to region, countries to countries. But despite such variances, we can outline some of
the major factors of urbanization as below: * The Natural increase in population: This is an
important factor of urbanization. The steady and continuous increase in the population size leads
towards urbanization. In urban areas, the number of births always exceeds the number of deaths
and this directly impacts the rise of the population composition in the city. * Migration: Migration,
which means movement of people from one geographical region to other, has been the most
important cause of urbanization. Without migration, urbanization would not have occurred at the
same pace and extent in which it has been happening at the present moment of time. As spatial
localities become more resourceful due to the discovery of minerals, resource exploitation,
development of new institutions and industries, higher productivity followed by the economic
growth and higher rate of employment opportunities, people start flocking to such places. And as
migrations happen rapidly, urbanization process occurres in that place. Such migration may happen
in form of either rural to urban migration or international to urban migration. * Industrialization:
Industrialization and urbanization go hand in hand. Industrialization refers to the emergence of
machine production based on the use of inanimate power sources like steam and electricity. The
process of industrialization represents a trend, which indicates a shift from the old agricultural
economy to the novel non-agricultural economy. It creates a modernized society and unfolds new
avenues and opportunities for people in the society. When the industrial revolution first happened
back in England, more and more people started to move from rural to urban areas, whichled
towards rapid urbanization in the following periods. Industrialization, which started back, then has
been instrumental in unleashing a new phase of urbanization across the globe. Industrialization in-
fact has speeded up the process of urbanization by opening up new avenues of living for people, by
accelerating trade, commerce, transportation and most importantly ,by enhancing the employment
opportunities. Industrialization thus stirs economic development, promotes population flows,
expands the territoriality of a region and hence paves the path for speedy urbanization in that
place where industries are being located. Industrialisation and urbanization often do occur
together if not always. * Development of transportation and communication facilities: Well
developed transportation and communication facilities directly trigger the process of urbanization.
Both industrialization and urbanization depend on the development of transportation and
communication facilities. It was through the transportation system that cities got connected to the
countryside. A well-developed transportation system helps in an unchecked movement of citizens,
* Unplanned and Uncontrolled growth: Urbanization does not always happen in a planned manner.
The problem like unplanned growth and development, municipal loopholes and bureaucratic
mismanagement often result in chaotic urbanization. Studies have shown that cities in developing
countries are over-populated and over-crowded due to the increase in population over the decades
and also because of the migration of persons from the countryside to the big industrialized cities,
often in search of employment, or in search of a higher standard of living and a better life.
Urbanization that happened in such a chaotic manner then resulted in overurbanization and this
further brought serious and insurmountable problems to the sustainability of urban lives and
environment.

* High population Density: Another major problem associated with the process of urbanization is
the high population density, which creates a chaotic imbalance in land-man ratio of a place
concerned. High population densities in urban areas usually occur due to the higher rate of
migration of people to the urban areas from the neighbouring rural areas. Higher density of
population often leads to problems like acute shortage of dwelling units, overcrowding in urban
areas, traffic congestion, rise of pollution, rise of slum and squatter settlements, higher rate of
lands and rents, poor living conditions, problem of unemployment and poor sanitation, poor
hygiene and chronic poverty of many urbanites. All such problems then put tremendous pressure
on urban governance and create an acute imbalance in urban growth. Higher population densities
also lead to the rise of crime rates in urban areas. Thus the rise of population beyond a
considerable limit is another problem associated with the process of urbanization.

* Lack of adequate infrastructure: Rapid Urbanization creates tremendous pressure on the

infrastructural requirements of the cities. Pathetically majority of urban centres of the developing
countries suffer from a poor state of the infrastructure. Problems like inadequate transit lines,
unplanned and bad road conditions, lack of adequate power supply, inadequate water supply and
drainage system and such other infra-structural shortages often create havoc in urban areas and
put the life of urbanites in a the doldrums. All such infrastructural loopholes pose serious threats to
the well-being and vitality of the urbanites and also invite other relatable problems like congestion,
flash flood, pollution etc in the urban areas.

* Housing Problem: Lack of affordable housing has been a major problem for many in the urban
areas across the world. Though people are constantly moving towards the cities in the
contemporary era, housing facilities to accommodate them all have not expanded at the same level
to satisfy the housing needs of the people in urban areas in the world

* Creation of slums: The creation and rapid expansion of slums in cities is another problem
associated with the process of rapid industrialization and urbanization. Slums are nothing less than
the dark spots of the cities. They consisted of sub-standard, ill-ventilated, in sanitary and poorly
lighted houses, which are practically unfit for human habitation and survival
opportunities of the country have pathetically failed to keep the pace of employment with the
quantum of immigration. The employment opportunities across the urban centres of India are not
enough to accommodate and absorb the rapid growth of urban labour force. Lack of skills and
technical expertise among many of the forced urban migrants increases the problem further.
Unskilled labour groups are pathetically rising in urban India and this is surely going to aggravate
the problem of unemployment in coming decades also. Unemployment or disguised
unemployment of many among the urban folks has been becoming a perennial problem of urban
India.

* Slums and squatter settlements: Slum and squatter settlements are the natural outcome of
unchecked, unplanned, haphazard urbanization in the country. Slums and squatter settlements are
on the rise in the cities and towns across India.. They are also the breeding grounds for many
diseases and urban crimes. They are the settlement spaces where manhood have been brutalized
and women are dishonoured and childhood vandalized. Persistence of Slums and squatter
settlements are thus a grievous problem of urban India

8.5 MEASURES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF URBANIZATION Following are the measures that can be
taken to resolve the problem of urbanization in India: * Reform in the model of city development:
India still follows a colonial and a conventional model of city planning and development. Many of
the models and the developmental paradigms are a mere replication of the western models. Such
west-centric models hardly suit the needs and concerns of the local urban communities or the local
urban environment and the heterogeneous cultures which Indian cities breed. The model of
development that many Indian cities follow seems to be highly non-inclusive, top-down, west-
centric and highly fragmentary. Because of such various loopholes, or to eradicate the multi-folded
urban problem, reform in the model of city development is the first and foremost measure. The
models of city development should be rooted in context, need to be inclusive, sustainable and
community oriented. It should be such that it becomes successful in sustaining the need and
concerns of the every urban citizen regardless of class, community, gender, and ethnicity.

* Creating a sustainable Rural base: To solve many of the problems of urban India, it is necessary
to put an immediate check on the over - migration of people from rural to urban areas. In order to
do so, the configuration of sustainable and progressive rural base is the need of the hour in India.
measures like the close economic integration of rural areas with neighboring urban areas, the
creation of rural off-farm employment by expanding opportunities through building agro-
processing and rural industries, building up of a viable rural infrastructure, developing ways for the
sustainable management of natural resources, need to get promoted judiciously.

* Promoting rural entrepreneurship and rural industrialization: A major responsible factor for
messy urbanization is the limited opportunities in villages. So, it is necessary to create more and
more employment as well as other livelihood opportunities in rural areas itself. Alongside this, it is
also necessary to pave ways for promoting effective participation of rural communities in the
management of their own social, economic and environmental resources. Rural entrepreneurship
should be promoted by empowering people in rural areas
UNIT 9: POPULATION DYNAMICS IN

Factors of Population Dynamics Population dynamics studies how population changes (increase or
decrease) over time. The most important factors in population dynamics include rates of fertility,
mortality and migration.

Factors Affecting Fertility in India Fertility rate in India has all along been high. The factors
responsible for this are— * Early marriage : In India the girls are married at a comparatively
younger age and hence get in longer period of married life. It increases their fertility

* Poverty : Poverty in India has always been high. Poverty restrict the people from using
contraceptives which results in high fertility rates among them.

* Climatic factor : India has a warm climate and girls attain puberty at an early age as compared to
girls in cold climate countries.

* Joint family system : Indian social structure is dominated by joint family system, particularly in
rural areas. The birth of an additional child causes no immediate hardship to parents. A child once
born in such a family will be fully looked after. This sort of absence of worry contributes
considerably in having more children.

* Dominance of agriculture : Agriculture has been the largest employer in India. In agricultural
economy there is certainty to a boy in getting employed. So he is married at an early age. Similarly,
in such an economy even the children get some sort of work. So, they do not prove to be a burden
on family and hence the farmers prefer larger family.

* Social customs : In our society, it is not considered socially bad or undesirable to have more
children. Till now in some backward areas children are considered as the gift of God to the family
and any attempt to check population growth is considered a sin and against the wishes of God.
Such beliefs positively affect fertility.

* Religious faith : In Hindu religion, it is believed that the birth of a son is most essentially needed
for the family. Without a son the father is likely to go to hell. Therefore, people go on trying to have
a son and in the process they have more children.

* High illiteracy : In India illiteracy is still very high

9.5 MORTALITY IN INDIA

9.5.1 Trends of Mortality in India Although the death rate shows continuously decreasing trend in
India, it is still above the desired level. The declining trend in death rate started in India as early as
in 1920s. Before that period death rate was very high due to frequent occurrences of famines and
epidemics. The death rates even exceeded birth rates thereby resulting in a reduction in population
size. Thus, the mortality rate in India has two phases – (a) Prior to 1921, the higher level of
mortality rate or the history of great fight against death, (b) The declining mortality rate after 1921.
emergency obstetric care for complicated cases also contributes to high MMR. In 2001, there were
41% noninstitutional deliveries which declined to 21.1% in 2015-16.

9.6 MIGRATION IN INDIA

9.6.1 Trends of Migration in India During the period of British rule, a large number of people from
India had to move involuntarily to Africa, the Caribbean and to diverse locations within the Indian
subcontinent. After independence also the trend of outmigration continues in search of better
education and employment opportunities. In the recent decades the most favored destinations of
Indian migrants have been the Gulf countries, North America and Europe. At the same time India
has also witnessing in migration of large number of people from neighbouring countries. Apart
from the international migration, India is constantly facing the problem of inter-state migration and
rural-urban migration. Youths of rural areas have been migrating to urban areas in search of higher
education and better employment opportunities. According to the 2001 census data, 30.39% of
total population in India were migrants i.e., settled in other places other than their original
residence. This figure rose to 37% in the 2011 census.

9.6.2 Factors Affecting Migration in India The socio-economic factors which work as pull and push
factors of migration in India are discussed below :

* Marriage : Marriage is one important factor of migration in India. In most cases, women have to
move to their in-laws after marriage.

* Employment : People move from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment
opportunities. The agricultural economy of the villages cannot adjust to the ever increasing burden
of the population. Even the small scale and cottage industries fail to provide employment as they
are in declining trend. Unemployment forces the people to move to cities.

* Education : The lack of educational facilities, particularly higher education in rural areas push the
people to move to urban areas. After completion of the education they prefer to settle in towns
and cities.

* Natural calamities : Frequent occurrences of natural calamities like flood, erosion etc. force many
people to migrate to other places.

* Lack of securities: Ethnic conflicts, insurgency, political disturbances, etc. drive away people from
their homelands.

* Attraction towards better living : The developed countries offer the promise of rich
opportunities, political stability, freedom, developed infrastructure, etc. which attracts the Indian
engineering, medical and management graduates like magnets.

* Prospects of higher earning : The Gulf countries offer comparatively very high remuneration to
low skilled workers which attracts the Indian labours.
UNIT 11 : QUALITATIVE ASPECTS OF THE INDIAN POPULATION – I (EDUCATION)

11.3 ACHIEVEMENT OF INDIAN POPULATION IN LITERACY The very notion and definition of literacy
and illiteracy have at least 3 different perspectives in India from three different groups, viz., (i)
Census Department; (ii) educationists and planners and administrators of formal education system;
and (iii) those dealing with adult education/ literacy. The most common perception about literacy is
the Census definition, that defines, literacy as the ability to read and write in any language.
According to Census,illiterates refer to those without this ability of reading and writing. This is the
basis on which data about incidence of literacy is gathered by Census in respect of population
above 7 years of age, and classified under two categories, viz., literates and illiterates. Education is
the most important lever for social, economic and political transformation. A well-educated
population equipped with relevant skill set, attitudes and competence which are essential for
economic and social development. Education also acts as an integrative force in the society,
imparting the values that foster social cohesion and national identity. Recognizing the importance
of education in order to determine the quality of the population. The total percentage of the
people of an area at a particular time who can read and write with understanding, taking the total
population of the area as the denominator, is known as Crude Literacy Rate. Effective Literacy Rate
refers to the total percentage of the population of an area at a particular time aged seven years or
above who can read and write with understanding. Here the denominator is the population aged
seven years and above.

11.4 SECONDARY AND SENIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION IN INDIA In the post independent India,
the network of educational institutions in last six decades has expanded remarkably. The growth of
secondary education during this period has remained much lower compared to that of the middle
level. Between 1950/51 and 2007/08, while the number of primary level institutions increased by
almost four fold from 209.7 thousand to 787.8 thousand, the number of the middle level
institutions went up by twenty-four fold from 13.6 thousand to 325.2 thousand, and the secondary
level institutions by more than twenty-three fold, from 7416 to 173.0 thousand. Moreover, the
growth rates of middle and secondary level institutions seem to be relatively very high during the
period primarily because of their small base. Growth or development of secondary and senior
secondary education cannot be looked at in terms of number of institutions, enrolment and
teachers. Besides the growth, another important aspect is to see how effectively the secondary and
senior education delivers. Very fact that the number of children in secondary education is expected
to continue to rise due to both supply and demand factors. The broad indicators indicate that
secondary schooling system has improved in last six decades, but the dropout rates, and transition
rate are still matter for concern. The educational indicators clearly indicate the gap between boys
and girl’s educational patterns and highlight the need to focus on reducing gender bias. Some facts
about secondary education in India are as follows: * Overall enrolment in the country at secondary
level has increased from 30675872 in 2009-10 to 37296683 (22%) in 2013-14. Increase has been
observed in all States. The enrolment has increased considerably in D&N Haveli (72%), Nagaland
(78%), Chhattisgarh (83%), Sikkim (83%), and Jharkhand (103%). * GER in 2005-06 was 52.19 (as per
SES) which has increased almost 3% every year (on an average) and is 76.64 in 2013-14. * GPI
are supposed to provide healthy and nutritious food which also acts as an incentive to attend
school, especially in poorer communities * High level of school dropouts at the primary and
secondary levels * Poor gender parity in education with low level of girls participation.

UNIT 13 : DETERMINANTS OF POPULATION GROWTH

13.3 VITAL RATES Vital rates refer to the changes in vital statistics, generally measured per 1000
population. These changes may be positive as well as negative. Vital rates are further divided into
two types – crude rates and refined rates. Crude rates include birth rate and death rate and refined
rate include such statistics as age, sex, race, etc. Among the various vital rates, the birth rate, death
rate and migration are the three important determinants of population growth. In the process of
population growth, both birth rate and death rate plays an important role in depicting the socio-
economic conditions of the country. As compared to birth rates and death rates, migration has
limited importance as the determinant of population growth. * BIRTH RATE : Before learning about
birth rate, it is important know about fertility. According to Thomson and Lewis, “Fertility is
generally used to indicate the actual reproductive performances of a woman or groups of women.”
In other words, fertility implies the ability of the female to give birth to a child. Birth rate means the
total number of children born per thousand population in a particular area in a specific period. The
Crude Birth Rate gives the number of births per thousand in a given year. The crude birth rate for
any specified population is obtained by dividing the number of births recorded in that population
during a specified year by its total numbers, which gives a fraction of birth per person

* DEATH RATE : Death or mortality is defined as the permanent disappearance of all evidence of life
at any time after birth has taken place. Death, therefore, does not include abortions and still births.
The study of causes of mortality and the measures required to be adopted to reduce the same are
very important and this can be analysed in terms of the death rate. Death rate means the total
number deaths occurred per thousand population in a particular area in a specific period. The
Crude Death Rates are the simplest type of death rates defined as the ratio of the number of
deaths occurred in a specified period to the population under reference in the same period
multiplied by 1000.

* MIGRATION : The third factor of change in population is migration. Unlike, birth and death,
migration is not a biological event. Rather, it is influenced by social, cultural, economic and political
factors. Migration plays a vital role in determining the size of population and also has an influence
on the structure of population. In addition to this, migration also plays a pivotal role in determining
the distribution of population and supply of labour in the country. Migration implies the movement
of people from one place to another. This movement can be between regions as well as between
countries, and also from rural to urban and vice versa. According to the Demographic Dictionary of
United Nations, “Migration is such an event in which people move from one geographical area to
another geographical area. When people leaving their place of residence go to live permanently in
another area then this is called migration.” Migration may be permanent or temporary with the
intention of returning to the place of origin in future.
* Assumptions of Life Table : Before preparing a life table certain assumptions are made- * A
hypothetical cohort of life table usually comprises of 1000 or 10,000 or 1,00,000 births. * The
deaths are equally distributed throughout the year. * The cohort of people diminishes gradually by
death only. * The cohort does not include in-migrants and out-migrants. * The death rate is related
to a pre-determined age specific death rate. * The cohort of persons dies at a fixed age which does
not change. * There is no change in death rates over time. * The cohort of life tables are generally
constructed separately for males and females.

* Methods of constructing a life table : Life tables are constructed on the basis of a single cross-
sectional time data for a generation. There is also a longitudinal life table method which takes a
real cohort of persons that start life at a specific age interval and follow it throughout life until they
die. Further, a complete life table may be constructed on the basis of single years of ages. An
abridged life table can also be constructed wherein ages are grouped in 5 or 10 years of interval,
taking the initial year as 0 -1.

* Importance of Life Table * Life tables are used in future population projection based on the
present death rates. * Life tables help in determining the average expectancy of life based on age
specific death rates. * On the basis of life tables one can try to estimate the cause of specific death
rates, male and female deaths, etc. * The survival rates in a life table can be used to calculate the
net migration rate on the basis of age distribution at 5 or 10 year interval* Life tables are also
useful in comparing national and international levels. * By constructing a life table based on the age
at marriage, marriage patterns and changes in them can be estimated. * The construction of
multiple decrement life tables relating to cause specific death rate, male and female death rates,
etc. will help in analysing socio-economic data in a country. * Life tables are very useful in
formulating family planning programmes relating to infant mortality, maternal deaths, health
programmes, etc. They are also used for evaluating family planning programmes. * Life tables are
also used by life insurance companies in order to estimate the average life expectancy of persons,
separately for males and females. They help in determining the amount of premium to be paid by a
person falling in a specific age group.

UNIT 14: POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT UNIT STRUCTURE

14.3 POPULATION AS A CONSTRAINT AND A RESOURCE FOR DEVELOPMENT Population is one of

the crucial factors in the process of economic development of a country. The issues of population
are related to many other facts, such as demography, urbanization, gender, religion, food and
nutrition, health and human rights etc. Hence, it is very difficult to trace out the effect of
population on economic development. Growth of population reduces the proportion of household
savings making less money available for per capita investment, reduces income, increases demand
for food, habitation etc. which eventually retard the process of development. Again, population
growth to some extent may be considered as an asset to economic development.