Population

The distribution of the population according to different types of occupation is referred as the occupational structure. The percentage of population that is economically active is an important index of development. The countries where more people are involved in secondary activities like manufacturing, construction and tertiary activities like transport, communication, commerce etc are said to be developed nation. Developing nations have higher proportion of people engaged in primary activities like agriculture, fishing, mining and quarrying.

Following are the advantages of having a healthy population:

1. Economic Development — Reduced absenteeism due to illness and lower healthcare costs of a healthy population contributes to stronger economic development of the nation.
2. Improved Education — With fewer physical and mental health issues, a healthy population can lead to a more educated and skilled workforce.
3. Longer Life Expectancy — A healthy population often enjoys a longer life expectancy, which can lead to more experienced workers and lower dependency ratios in the population.
4. Innovation and Creativity — A healthy population is more likely to engage in innovative and creative activities, leading to advancements in science, technology, and culture.

The significant features of the National Population Policy 2000 are:

1. It provides a policy framework for imparting free and compulsory school education up to 14 years of age.
2. It aims at reducing infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1000 live births.
3. It aims at achieving universal immunisation of children against all vaccine preventable diseases.
4. It promotes delayed marriage for girls.
5. It provides for making family welfare a people-centred programme.

Following reasons are responsible for the decline in rate of population growth in India since 1981:

1. Family planning and awareness about birth control measures.
2. Making family welfare a people-centred programme.
3. Women education and raising age of marriage.
4. Economic development and improved living standards.

The major components of population growth are:

1. Birth rate — It is the number of live births per 1000 persons in a year. When the birth rate is higher than the death rate, it results in population growth.
2. Death rate — It is the number of deaths per 1000 persons in a year. Improved healthcare and medical services have led to a rapid decline in the death rate, leading to growth of the Indian population.
3. Migration — It is the movement of people across regions and territories. It can be internal (within the country) or international (between the countries). Internal migration changes the distribution of population but does not change the size.

1. Age structure — Age structure is defined as the number of people in different age groups in a given population. India's population is grouped into three broad categories:
   1. Children (below 15 years)
   2. Working age (15-59 years)
   3. Aged (above 59 years)
2. Death rate — It is the number of deaths per 1000 persons in a year.
3. Birth rate — It is the number of live births per 1000 persons in a year.

Migration is an important determinant of population change. Migration can be internal (within the country) or international (between the countries). Internal migration does not change the size of the population, but influences the distribution of population within the nation. It changes not only the population size but also the population composition of urban and rural populations in terms of age and sex composition. In India, the rural-urban migration has resulted in a steady increase in the percentage of population in cities and towns.

both the area of departure and arrival

high birth rates

the number of persons added each year

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Rugged terrain and unfavourable climatic conditions are primarily responsible for sparse population in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan etc. Their population density is less than 250. Assam and most of the Peninsular states have moderate population densities. Hilly, dissected and rocky nature of the terrain, moderate to low rainfall, shallow and less fertile soils have influenced population densities in these areas. The Northern plains and Kerala in the south have high to very high population densities because of the flat plains with fertile soils and abundant rainfall.

When a low annual rate is applied to a very large population, it yields a large absolute increase. When more than a billion people increase even at a lower rate, the total number being added becomes very large. Therefore, despite the decline in growth rates, the number of people being added every decade is steadily increasing as per the given table.