Fundamentals of Human Geography

FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMANGEOGRAPHY

Textbook for Class XII

The National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005, recommends thatchildrens life at school must be linked to their life outside the school. Thisprinciple marks a departure from the legacy of bookish learning whichcontinues to shape our system and causes a gap between the school, homeand community. The syllabi and textbooks developed on the basis of NCFsignify an attempt to implement this basic idea. They also attempt todiscourage rote learning and the maintenance of sharp boundaries betweendifferent subject areas. We hope these measures will take us significantlyfurther in the direction of a child-centred system of education outlined inthe National Policy on Education (1986).

The success of this effort depends on the steps that school principalsand teachers will take to encourage children to reflect on their own learningand to pursue imaginative activities and questions. We must recognise that,given space, time and freedom, children generate new knowledge byengaging with the information passed on to them by adults. Treating theprescribed textbook as the sole basis of examination is one of the key reasonswhy other resources and sites of learning are ignored. Inculcating creativityand initiative is possible if we perceive and treat children as participantsin learning, not as receivers of a fixed body of knowledge.

These aims imply considerable change in school routines and mode offunctioning. Flexibility in the daily time-table is as necessary as rigour inimplementing the annual calendar so that the required number of teachingdays are actually devoted to teaching. The methods used for teaching andevaluation will also determine how effective this textbook proves for makingchildrens life at school a happy experience, rather than a source of stressor boredom. Syllabus designers have tried to address the problem ofcurricular burden by restructuring and reorienting knowledge at differentstages with greater consideration for child psychology and the time availablefor teaching. The textbook attempts to enhance this endeavour by givinghigher priority and space to opportunities for contemplation and wondering,discussion in small groups, and activities requiring hands-on experience.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)appreciates the hard work done by the textbook development committeeresponsible for this book. We wish to thank the Chairperson of the advisorycommittee for textbooks in Social Sciences, at the higher secondary level,Professor Hari Vasudevan and the Chief Advisor for this book, ProfessorM.H. Qureshi for guiding the work of this committee. Several teacherscontributed to the development of this textbook; we are grateful to theirprincipals for making this possible. We are indebted to the institutions andorganisations which have generously permitted us to draw upon theirresources, material and personnel. We are especially grateful to the membersof the National Monitoring Committee, appointed by the Department ofSecondary and Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Developmentunder the Chairpersonship of Professor Mrinal Miri and Professor G.P.Deshpande, for their valuable time and contribution. As an organisationcommitted to systemic reform and continuous improvement in the qualityof its products, NCERT welcomes comments and suggestions which willenable us to undertake further revision and refinement.

DirectorNew Delhi National Council of Educational20 November 2006 Research and Training

Foreword

Textbook Development CommitteeCHAIRPERSON, ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR TEXTBOOKS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES ATTHE HIGHER SECONDARY LEVEL

Hari Vasudevan, Professor, Department of History, University of Calcutta,Kolkata

CHIEF ADVISOR

M. H. Qureshi, Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development,Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

MEMBERS

Anindita Datta, Lecturer, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, Delhi

Anup Saikia, Reader, Gauhati University, Guwahati

Ashok Diwakar, Lecturer, Government P.G. College, Sector-9, Gurgaon

N. Kar, Reader , Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar

N. Nagabhushanam, Professor, S.V. Univeristy, Tirupati

N. R. Dash, Reader, M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara

Odilia Coutinho, Reader, R.P.D. College, Belgaum

Ranjana Jasuja, PGT, Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi

S. Zaheen Alam, Lecturer, Dyal Singh College, University of Delhi

Swgata Basu, Lecturer, SSV (PG) College, Hapur

MEMBER-COORDINATOR

Tannu Malik, Lecturer, DESSH, NCERT, New Delhi

AcknowledgementsThe National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)acknowledges the contribution of Rupa Das, PGT, DPS, R.K. Puram in thedevelopment of this textbook. Special thanks are due to Savita Sinha,Professor and Head, Department of Education in Social Sciences andHumanities for her valuable support at every stage of preparation of thistextbook.

The Council is thankful to the Survey of India for certification of mapsgiven in the textbook. It also gratefully acknowledges the support ofindividuals and organisations as listed below for providing variousphotographs and illustrations used in this textbook.

M.H. Qureshi, Professor, CSRD, JNU for Fig. 8.2 and 10.8; Seema Mathur,Reader, Sri Aurobindo College (Evening), New Delhi for a photograph on page1, Fig. 5.15(a) and 7.5; Krishan Sheoran from Austria for Fig. 5.13, 8.1, 8.4,8.15, 10.1 and 10.2; Arjun Singh, Student, Hindu College, University of Delhifor a photograph on page 90 and Fig. 7.3; Nityanand Sharma, Professor andHead, Medical College, Rohtak for a photograph on page 55; Swagata Basu,Lecturer, SSV (PG) College, Hapur for Fig. 8.17, 9.2 and 10.9; Odilia Countinho,Reader, R.P.D. College, Belgaum for Fig. 7.4; Abhimanyu Abrol for Fig. 5.10;Samiran Baruah for Fig. 9.1; Shveta Uppal, NCERT for Fig. 6.2(b), 6.3, 8.12and 10.4; Kalyan Banerjee, NCERT for Fig. 10.3, 10.5 and 10.6; Y.K. Guptaand R.C. Das, CIET, NCERT for a photograph on page 65 and Fig. 5.17(a),5.17(b) and 10.10; NCERTs old collection of photographs for Fig. 5.5, 5.9,5.11, 5.15(b), 5.18, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 8.8, 8.13, 9.5, 9.6 and photographs on pages1, 31, 46 and 81; Times of India, New Delhi for news items on pages 12, 63and 69, ITDC/Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India for Fig. 5.1 and 6.2(a);National Highway Authority of India for Fig. 8.3; Business Standard for a newsitem on pages 28 and 75; Practical Work in Geography, Part I, Class XI, NCERT(2006) for photographs on page 23; Directorate of Extension, Ministry ofAgriculture for Fig. 5.3 and 7.2; The Hindu for a news item on page 75 andwebsite: www.africa.upenn.edu for Fig. 10.7

The Council also gratefully acknowledges the contribution ofAnil Sharma, DTP Operator; Ajay Singh, Copy Editor; K.C. Patra, Proof Readerand Dinesh Kumar, Computer Incharge who have helped in giving a finalshape to this book. The contribution of the Publication Department, NCERTis also duly acknowledged.

The following are applicable to all the maps of India used inthis textbook

1. Government of India, Copyright 20062. The responsibility for the correctness of internal details rests with the publisher.3. The territorial waters of India extend into the sea to a distance of twelve nautical

miles measured from the appropriate base line.4. The administrative headquarters of Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab are at

Chandigarh.5. The interstate boundaries amongst Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya

shown on this map are as interpreted from the North-Eastern Areas(Reorganisation) Act.1971, but have yet to be verified.

6. The external boundaries and coastlines of India agree with the Record/MasterCopy certified by Survey of India.

7. The state boundaries between Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh, Bihar andJharkhand and Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have not been verified by theGovernments concerned.

8. The spellings of names in this map have been taken from various sources.

FOREWORD iii

UNIT I 1-7

1. Human GeographyNature and Scope 1

UNIT II 8-30

2. The World PopulationDistribution, Density and Growth 8

3. Population Composition 17

4. Human Development 22

UNIT III 31-90

5. Primary Activities 31

6. Secondary Activities 45

7. Tertiary and Quaternary Activities 55

8. Transport and Communication 65

9. International Trade 81

UNIT IV 91-102

10. Human Settlements 90

APPENDIX I 103

APPENDIX II 107

GLOSSARY 110

Contents

Unit-IUnit-IUnit-IUnit-IUnit-IChapter-1

Human GeographyNature and Scope

You have already studied Geography as aDiscipline in Chapter I of the book,Fundamentals of Physical Geography (NCERT,2006). Do you recall the contents? This chapterhas broadly covered and introduced you to thenature of geography. You are also acquaintedwith the important branches that sprout fromthe body of geography. If you re-read thechapter you will be able to recall the link ofhuman geography with the mother disciplinei.e. geography. As you know geography as afield of study is integrative, empirical, andpractical. Thus, the reach of geography isextensive and each and every event orphenomenon which varies over space and timecan be studied geographically. How do you seethe earths surface? Do you realise that the earthcomprises two major components: nature(physical environment) and life forms includinghuman beings? Make a list of physical andhuman components of your surroundings.Physical geography studies physicalenvironment and human geography studiesthe relationship between the physical/naturaland the human worlds, the spatial distributionsof human phenomena and how they comeabout, the social and economic differencesbetween different parts of the world.1

You are already aware of the fact that thecore concern of geography as a discipline is tounderstand the earth as home of human beingsand to study all those elements which havesustained them. Thus, emphasis is on study ofnature and human beings. You will realise thatgeography got subjected to dualism and thewide-ranging debates started whethergeography as a discipline should be a lawmaking/theorising (nomothetic) ordescriptive (idiographic). Whether its subjectmatter should be organised and approach ofthe study should be regional or systematic?Whether geographical phenomena beinterpreted theoretically or through historic-institutional approach? These have been issuesfor intellectual exercise but finally you willappreciate that the dichotomy between physicaland human is not a very valid one becausenature and human are inseparable elementsand should be seen holistically. It is interestingto note that both physical and human

1 Agnew J. Livingstone, David N. and Rogers, A.; (1996) BlackwellPublishing Limited, Malden, U.S.A. p. 1 and 2.

2 Fundamentals of Human Geography

phenomena are described in metaphors usingsymbols from the human anatomy.

We often talk of the face of the earth, eyeof the storm, mouth of the river, snout (nose)of the glacier, neck of the isthmus and profileof the soil. Similarly regions, villages, townshave been described as organisms. Germangeographers describe the state/country as aliving organism. Networks of road, railwaysand water ways have often been described asarteries of circulation. Can you collect suchterms and expressions from your ownlanguage? The basic questions now arises, canwe separate nature and human when they areso intricately intertwined?

Human Geography DefinedHuman Geography DefinedHuman Geography DefinedHuman Geography DefinedHuman Geography Defined

Human geography is the synthetic studyof relationship between human societies andearths surface. Ratzel

Synthesis has been emphasised in theabove definition.

Human geography is the study of thechanging relationship between the unrestingman and the unstable earth.

Ellen C. Semple

Dynamism in the relationship is the keywordin Semples definition.

Conception resulting from a moresynthetic knowledge of thephysical lawsgoverning our earth and of the relationsbetween the living beings which inhabit it.

Paul Vidal de la Blache

Human geography offers a new conceptionof the interrelationships between earth andhuman beings.

NATURE OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

Human geography studies the inter-relationshipbetween the physical environment and socio-cultural environment created by human beingsthrough mutual interaction with each other. You

have already studied the elements of physicalenvironment in class XI in the book entitledFundamentals of Physical Geography (NCERT2006). You know that these elements arelandforms, soils, climate, water, natural vegetationand diverse flora and fauna. Can you make a listof elements which human beings have createdthrough their activities on the stage provided bythe physical environment? Houses, villages, cities,road-rail networks, industries, farms, ports, itemsof our daily use and all other elements of materialculture have been created by human beingsusing the resources provided by the physicalenvironment. While physical environment hasbeen greatly modified by human beings, it hasalso, in turn, impacted human lives.

Naturalisation of Humans andHumanisation of Nature

Human beings interact with their physicalenvironment with the help of technology. It isnot important what human beings produce andcreate but it is extremely important with thehelp of what tools and techniques do theyproduce and create.

Technology indicates the level of culturaldevelopment of society. Human beings wereable to develop technology after they developedbetter understanding of natural laws. Forexample, the understanding of concepts offriction and heat helped us discover fire.Similarly, understanding of the secrets of DNAand genetics enabled us to conquer manydiseases. We use the laws of aerodynamics todevelop faster planes. You can see thatknowledge about Nature is extremely importantto develop technology and technology loosensthe shackles of environment on human beings.In the early stages of their interaction with theirnatural environment humans were greatlyinfluenced by it. They adapted to the dictatesof Nature. This is so because the level oftechnology was very low and the stage ofhuman social development was also primitive.This type of interaction between primitivehuman society and strong forces of nature wastermed as environmental determinism. Atthat stage of very low technological developmentwe can imagine the presence of a naturalisedhuman, who listened to Nature, was afraid ofits fury and worshipped it.

Human Geography: Nature and Scope 3

The Naturalisation of HumansThe Naturalisation of HumansThe Naturalisation of HumansThe Naturalisation of HumansThe Naturalisation of Humans

Benda lives in the wilds of the Abujh Maadarea of central India. His village consists ofthree huts deep in the wilds. Not even birdsor stray dogs that usually crowd villages canbe seen in these areas. Wearing a smallloin cloth and armed with his axe he slowlysurveys the penda (forest) where his tribepractices a primitive form of agriculture calledshifting cultivation. Benda and his friendsburn small patches of forest to clear themfor cultivation. The ash is used for makingthe soil fertile. Benda is happy that theMahua trees around him are in bloom. Howlucky I am to be a part of this beautifuluniverse, he thinks as he looks up to seethe Mahua, Palash and Sal trees that havesheltered him since childhood. Crossing thependa in a gliding motion, Benda makeshis way to a stream. As he bends down toscoop up a palmful of water, he remembersto thank Loi-Lugi, the spirit of the forest forallowing him to quench his thirst. Movingon with his friends, Benda chews onsucculent leaves and roots. The boys havebeen trying to collect Gajjhara and Kuchla,from the forest. These are special plantsthat Benda and his people use. He hopesthe spirits of the forest will be kind and leadhim to these herbs. These are needed tobarter in the madhai or tribal fair coming upthe next full moon. He closes his eyes andtries hard to recall what the elders had taughthim about these herbs and the places theyare found in. He wishes he had listened morecarefully. Suddenly there is a rustling ofleaves. Benda and his friends know it is theoutsiders who have come searching for themin the wilds. In a single fluid motion Bendaand his friends disappear behind the thickcanopy of trees and become one with thespirit of the forest.

The story in the box represents the directrelationship of a household belonging to aneconomically primitive society with nature. Readabout other primitive societies which live incomplete harmony with their naturalenvironment. You will realise that in all such casesnature is a powerful force, worshipped, reveredand conserved. There is direct dependence of

human beings on nature for resources whichsustain them. The physical environment for suchsocieties becomes the Mother Nature.

The people begin to understand theirenvironment and the forces of nature with thepassage of time. With social and culturaldevelopment, humans develop better and moreefficient technology. They move from a state ofnecessity to a state of freedom. They createpossibilities with the resources obtained fromthe environment. The human activities createcultural landscape. The imprints of humanactivities are created everywhere; health resortson highlands, huge urban sprawls, fields,orchards and pastures in plains and rollinghills, ports on the coasts, oceanic routes on theoceanic surface and satellites in the space. Theearlier scholars termed this as possibilism.Nature provides opportunities and humanbeing make use of these and slowly nature getshumanised and starts bearing the imprints ofhuman endeavour.

Humanisation of Nature

Winters in the town of Trondheim mean fiercewinds and heavy snow. The skies are darkfor months. Kari drives to work in the dark at8 am. She has special tyres for the winterand keeps the headlights of her powerful carswitched on. Her office is artificially heatedat a comfortable 23 degrees Celsius. Thecampus of the university she works in is builtunder a huge glass dome. This dome keepsthe snow out in winter and lets in the sunshinein the summer. The temperature is controlledcarefully and there is adequate lighting. Eventhough fresh vegetables and plants dont growin such harsh weather, Kari keeps an orchidon her desk and enjoys eating tropical fruitslike banana and kiwi. These are flown in fromwarmer areas regularly. With a click of themouse, Kari can network with colleagues inNew Delhi. She frequently takes a morningflight to London and returns in the evening intime to watch her favourite television serial.Though Kari is fifty-eight years old, she isfitter and looks younger than many thirty-year- olds in other parts of the world.


Can you imagine what has made such alife style possible? It is technology that hasallowed the people of Trondheim and others toovercome the constraints imposed by nature. Doyou know about some other such instances?Such examples are not difficult to find.

A geographer, Griffith Taylor introducedanother concept which reflects a middle path(Madhyam Marg) between the two ideas ofenvironmental determinism and possibilism.He termed it as Neodeterminism or stop andgo determinism. Those of you who live in citiesand those who have visited a city, might haveseen that traffic is regulated by lights on thecross-roads. Red light means stop, amber lightprovides a gap between red and green lights toget set and green light means go. The conceptshows that neither is there a situation ofabsolute necessity (environmental determinism)nor is there a condition of absolute freedom(possibilism). It means that human beings canconquer nature by obeying it. They have torespond to the red signals and can proceed intheir pursuits of development when naturepermits the modifications. It means thatpossibilities can be created within the limitswhich do not damage the environment and thereis no free run without accidents. The free runwhich the developed economies attempted totake has already resulted in the green houseeffect, ozone layer depletion, global warming,receding glaciers and degrading lands. Theneo-determinism conceptually attempts tobring a balance nullifying the either ordichotomy.

Human Geography throughthe Corridors of Time

The process of adaptation, adjustment with andmodification of the environment started with theappearance of human beings over the surfaceof the earth in different ecological niches. Thus,if we imagine the beginning of humangeography with the interaction of environmentand human beings, it has its roots deep inhistory. Thus, the concerns of humangeography have a long temporal continuumthough the approaches to articulate them havechanged over time. This dynamism in

approaches and thrusts shows the vibrantnature of the discipline. Earlier there was littleinteraction between different societies and theknowledge about each other was limited.Travellers and explorers used to disseminateinformation about the areas of their visits.Navigational skills were not developed andvoyages were fraught with dangers. The latefifteenth century witnessed attempts ofexplorations in Europe and slowly the mythsand mysteries about countries and peoplestarted to open up. The colonial period providedimpetus to further explorations in order toaccess the resources of the regions and to obtaininventorised information. The intention here isnot to present an in-depth historical accountbut to make you aware of the processes of steadydevelopment of human geography. Thesummarised Table 1.1 will introduce you to thebroad stages and the thrust of humangeography as a sub-field of geography.

Welfare or humanistic school of thoughtin human geography was mainly concernedwith the different aspects of social well-beingof the people. These included aspects suchas housing, health and education.Geographers have already introduced apaper as Geography of Social well-being inthe Post Graduate curriculum.

Radical school of thought employedMarxian theory to explain the basic causeof poverty, deprivation and social inequality.Contemporary social problems were relatedto the development of capitalism.

Behavioural school of thought laid greatemphasis on lived experience and also onthe perception of space by social categoriesbased on ethnicity, race and religion, etc.

Fields and Sub-fields of Human Geography

Human geography, as you have seen, attemptsto explain the relationship between all elementsof human life and the space they occur over.Thus, human geography assumes a highlyinter-disciplinary nature. It develops close


Table 1.1: Broad Stages and Thrust of Human Geography

interface with other sister disciplines in socialsciences in order to understand and explainhuman elements on the surface of the earth.With the expansion of knowledge, new sub-fields emerge and it has also happened tohuman geography. Let us examine these fieldsand sub-fields of Human Geography (Table 1.2).

You would have noticed that the list islarge and comprehensive. It reflects the

expanding realm of human geography. Theboundaries between sub-fields often overlap.What follows in this book in the form ofchapters will provide you a fairly widespreadcoverage of different aspects of humangeography. The exercises, the activities and thecase studies will provide you with someempirical instances so as to have a betterunderstanding of its subject matter.

Broad Features

Imperial and trade interests prompted the discovery andexploration of new areas. An encyclopaedic description ofthe area formed an important aspect of the geographersaccount.

Elaborate description of all aspects of a region wereundertaken. The idea was that all the regions were part ofa whole, i.e. (the earth); so, understanding the parts intotality would lead to an understanding of the whole.

The focus was on identifying the uniqueness of any regionand understanding how and why it was different fromothers.

Marked by the use of computers and sophisticatedstatistical tools. Laws of physics were often applied tomap and analyse human phenomena. This phase wascalled the quantitative revolution. The main objective wasto identify mappable patterns for different humanactivities.

Discontentment with the quantitative revolution and itsdehumanised manner of doing geography led to theemergence of three new schools of thought of humangeography in the 1970s. Human geography was made morerelevant to the socio-political reality by the emergence ofthese schools of thought. Consult the box below to knowa little bit more about these schools of thought.

The grand generalisations and the applicability of universaltheories to explain the human conditions were questioned.The importance of understanding each local context inits own right was emphasised.

Approaches

Exploration anddescription

Regional analysis

Areal differentiation

Spatial organisation

Emergence ofhumanistic, radicaland behaviouralschools

Post-modernism ingeography

Period

Early Colonialperiod

Later Colonialperiod

1930s through theinter-War period

Late 1950s to thelate 1960s

1970s

1990s


Table 1.2: Human Geography and Sister Disciplines of Social Sciences

EXERCISESEXERCISESEXERCISESEXERCISESEXERCISES

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.(i) Which one of the following statements does not describe geography?

(a) an integrative discipline

(b) study of the inter-relationship between humans and environment

Fields of Sub-fields Interface with SisterHuman Disciplines of Social Sciences

Geography

Social Social Sciences Sociology

Geography Behavioural Geography Psychology

Geography of Social Welfare Economics

Well-being

Geography of Leisure Sociology

Cultural Geography Anthropology

Gender Geography Sociology, Anthropology, Womens Studies

Historical Geography History

Medical Geography Epidemology

Urban Urban Studies and Planning

Geography

Political Political Science

Geography Electoral Geography Psephology

Military Geography Military Science

Population Demography

Geography

Settlement Urban/Rural Planning

Geography

Economic Economics

Geography Geography of Resources Resource Economics

Geography of Agriculture Agricultural Sciences

Geography of Industries Industrial Economics

Geography of Marketing Business Studies, Economics, Commerce

Geography of Tourism Tourism and Travel Management

Geography of International International Trade

Trade


(c) subjected to dualism

(d) not relevant in the present time due to the development of technology.

(ii) Which one of the following is not a source of geographical information?

(a) travellers accounts

(b) old maps

(c) samples of rock materials from the moon

(d) ancient epics

(iii) Which one of the following is the most important factor in the interactionbetween people and environment?

(a) human intelligence (c) technology

(b) peoples perception (d) human brotherhood

(iv) Which one of the following is not an approach in human geography?

(a) Areal differentiation (c) Quantitative revolution

(b) Spatial organisation (d) Exploration and description2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.

(i) Define human geography.

(ii) Name some sub-fields of human geography.

(iii) How is human geography related to other social sciences?3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words.

(i) Explain naturalisation of humans.

(ii) Write a note on the scope of human geography.

Unit-IIUnit-IIUnit-IIUnit-IIUnit-IIChapter-2

The World PopulationDistribution, Density andGrowth

The people of a country are its real wealth. Itis they who make use of the countrys resourcesand decide its policies. Ultimately a country isknown by its people.

It is important to know how many womenand men a country has, how many children areborn each year, how many people die and how?Whether they live in cities or villages, can theyread or write and what work do they do? Theseare what you will study about in this unit.

The world at the beginning of 21st centuryrecorded the presence of over 6 billionpopulation. We shall discuss the patterns oftheir distribution and density here.

Why do people prefer to live in certainregions and not in others?

The population of the world is unevenlydistributed. The remark of George B. Cresseyabout the population of Asia that Asia has manyplaces where people are few and few place wherepeople are very many is true about the patternof population distribution of the world also.

PATTERNS OF POPULATIONDISTRIBUTION IN THE WORLD

Patterns of population distribution and densityhelp us to understand the demographiccharacteristics of any area. The term populationdistribution refers to the way people are spacedover the earths surface. Broadly, 90 per cent ofthe world population lives in about 10 per centof its land area.

The 10 most populous countries of theworld contribute about 60 per cent of the worldspopulation. Of these 10 countries, 6 are locatedin Asia. Identify these six countries of Asia.

10

2.7

28

.14

21

.21

17.0

1

15.6

5

14.6

9

12.9

2

12.6

9

11.15

12

7.7

6

0102030405060708090

100110120130

Chi

na

Indi

a

USA

Indo

nesi

a

Bra

zil

Pakistan

CIS

Bang

lade

sh

Japa

n

Nige

ria

Po

pu

lati

on

(in

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Fig. 2.1: Most Populous Countries

Not gold but only (Wo)men can makea people great and strong.

(Wo)men who for truth andhonours sake, stand fast and sufferlong (Wo)men who toil while otherssleep who dare while others flee they build a nations pillars deep andlift it to the sky.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

DENSITY OF POPULDENSITY OF POPULDENSITY OF POPULDENSITY OF POPULDENSITY OF POPULAAAAATIONTIONTIONTIONTION

Each unit of land has limited capacity tosupport people living on it. Hence, it isnecessary to understand the ratio between thenumbers of people to the size of land. This ratiois the density of population. It is usuallymeasured in persons per sq km

Population Density of Population =

AreaFor example, area of Region X is 100 sq

km and the population is 1,50,000 persons.The density of population is calculated as:

1,50,000Density

100=

= 1,500 person/sq kmWhat does this tell you about Region X?Look at the map given below:Do you observe that some areas are really

crowded? These are the densely populatedparts of the world with more than 200 persons

on every sq km. These are the North -Easternpart of U.S.A., North-Western part of Europe,South, South-East and East Asia.

Other areas like those near the North andSouth Poles, the hot and the cold deserts andhigh rainfall zones near the Equator have verylow density of population. These are thesparsely populated regions of the world withless than 01 person per sq km.

In between these two types are the areasof medium density. There are 11 to 50 personsper sq km in these areas. Western China,Southern India in Asia, Norway, Sweden inEurope are some examples. Look at the Fig. 2.2and identify some other areas.

FAFAFAFAFACTCTCTCTCTORS INFLORS INFLORS INFLORS INFLORS INFLUENCING THEUENCING THEUENCING THEUENCING THEUENCING THEDISTRIBDISTRIBDISTRIBDISTRIBDISTRIBUTION OF POPULUTION OF POPULUTION OF POPULUTION OF POPULUTION OF POPULAAAAATIONTIONTIONTIONTION

I. Geographical Factors

(i) Availability of water: It is the mostimportant factor for life. So, people prefer

Fig. 2.2: World Density of Population, 2001

The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth 9

Fundamentals of Human Geography10

to live in areas where fresh water is easilyavailable. Water is used for drinking,bathing and cooking and also for cattle,crops, industries and navigation. It isbecause of this that river valleys are amongthe most densely populated areas of theworld.

(ii) Landforms: People prefer living on flatplains and gentle slopes. This is becausesuch areas are favourable for theproduction of crops and to build roads andindustries. The mountainous and hillyareas hinder the development of transportnetwork and hence initially do not favouragricultural and industrial development.So, these areas tend to be less populated.The Ganga plains are among the mostdensely populated areas of the world whilethe mountains zones in the Himalayas arescarcely populated.

(iii) Climate: An extreme climate such as veryhot or cold deserts are uncomfortable forhuman habitation. Areas with acomfortable climate, where there is notmuch seasonal variation attract morepeople. Areas with very heavy rainfall orextreme and harsh climates have lowpopulation. Mediterranean regions wereinhabited from early periods in history dueto their pleasant climate.

(iv) Soils: Fertile soils are important foragricultural and allied activities. Therefore,areas which have fertile loamy soils havemore people living on them as these cansupport intensive agriculture. Can youname some areas in India which are thinlypopulated due to poor soils?

II. Economic Factors

(i) Minerals: Areas with mineral depositsattract industries. Mining and industrialactivities generate employment. So, skilledand semiskilled workers move to theseareas and make them densely populated.Katanga Zambia copper belt in Africa isone such good example.

(ii) Urbanisation: Cities offer betteremployment opportunities, educationaland medical facilities, better means oftransport and communication. Good civic

amenities and the attraction of city life drawpeople to the cities. It leads to rural tourban migration and cities grow in size.Mega cities of the world continue to attractlarge number of migrants every year.

Yet city life can be very taxing. thinkof some of the unpleasant aspects of citylife.

(iii) Industrialisation: Industrial belts providejob opportunities and attract largenumbers of people. These include not justfactory workers but also transportoperators, shopkeepers, bank employees,doctors, teachers and other serviceproviders. The Kobe-Osaka region ofJapan is thickly populated because of thepresence of a number of industries.

III. Social and Cultural Factors

Some places attract more people because theyhave religious or cultural significance. In thesame way people tend to move away fromplaces where there is social and politicalunrest. Many a times governments offerincentives to people to live in sparselypopulated areas or move away fromovercrowded places. Can you think of someexamples from your region?

POPULPOPULPOPULPOPULPOPULAAAAATION GROTION GROTION GROTION GROTION GROWTHWTHWTHWTHWTH

The population growth or population changerefers to the change in number of inhabitants ofa territory during a specific period of time. Thischange may be positive as well as negative. Itcan be expressed either in terms of absolutenumbers or in terms of percentage. Populationchange in an area is an important indicator ofeconomic development, social upliftment andhistorical and cultural background of the region.

Some Basic Concepts ofPopulation Geography

Growth of Population : Change ofpopulation in particular area between twopoints of time is known as growth of


population. For example, if we deduct thepopulation of India 1991 (84.63 crore) frompopulation of 2001 (102.70 crore) then weshall get the growth of population (18.07crores) in actual numbers.

Growth Rate of Population : This is thechange of population expressed inpercentage.

Natural Growth of Population: This is thepopulation increased by difference betweenbirths and deaths in a particular regionbetween two points of time.

Natural Growth = Births Deaths

Actual Growth of Population : This is

Births Deaths + In Migration OutMigration

Positive Growth of Population: Thishappens when the birth rate is more thanthe death rate between two points of timeor when people from other countries migratepermanently to a region.

Negative Growth of Population: If thepopulation decreases between two pointsof time it is known as negative growth ofpopulation. It occurs when the birth rate fallsbelow the death rate or people migrate toother countries.

Components of Population Change

There are three components of populationchange births, deaths and migration.

The crude birth rate (CBR) is expressed asnumber of live births in a year per thousand ofpopulation. It is calculated as:

BiCBR 1000

P=

Here, CBR = Crude Birth Rate; Bi = livebirths during the year; P=Mid year populationof the area.

Death rate plays an active role inpopulation change. Population growth occursnot only by increasing births rate but also dueto decreasing death rate. Crude Death Rate(CDR) is a simple method of measuringmortality of any area. CDR is expressed in termsof number of deaths in a particular year per

thousand of population in a particular region.CDR is calculated as:

DCDR 1000

P=

Here, CDR=Crude Death Rate; D= Numberof deaths; P=Estimated mid-year population ofthat year.

By and large mortality rates are affectedby the regions demographic structure, socialadvancement and levels of its economicdevelopment.

Migration

Apart from birth and death there is another wayby which the population size changes.

When people move from one place toanother, the place they move from is called thePlace of Origin and the place they move to iscalled the Place of Destination. The place oforigin shows a decrease in population while thepopulation increases in the place of destination.Migration may be interpreted as a spontaneouseffort to achieve a better balance betweenpopulation and resources.

Migration may be permanent, temporaryor seasonal. It may take place from rural torural areas, rural to urban areas, urban tourban areas and urban to rural areas.

Do you realise that the same person is bothan immigrant and an emigrant?

Immigration: Migrants who move into a newplace are called Immigrants.

Emigration: Migrants who move out of aplace are called Emigrants.

Can you think of reasons why peoplemigrate?

People migrate for a better economic andsocial life. There are two sets of factors thatinfluence migration.

The Push factors make the place of originseem less attractive for reasons likeunemployment, poor living conditions, politicalturmoil, unpleasant climate, natural disasters,epidemics and socio-economic backwardness.

The Pull factors make the place ofdestination seem more attractive than the place


Technological revolutions1650 to present

Information and computers

Biotechnology

Sanitation and Medical

Transportation

IndustrialDevelopment and

spread of agriculture

(0.25 billion)(0.5 billion)

12000 yearsbeforepresent

Birth ofChrist

1600 1700 1800 1900 2000Present

Time

Worldpopulationin billions

Number of years for worldpopulation to increaseby 1 billion

6 billion5 billion4 billion3 billion

2 billion

1999198719751960

1930

(12 years)(12 years)(15 years)

(30 years)

1 billion 1830

(100 years)Age of European exploration,

colonisation and settlement

Fig. 2.3: Resource, Technology and Population Growth

of origin for reasons like better job opportunitiesand living conditions, peace and stability,security of life and property and pleasant climate.

TRENDS IN POPULTRENDS IN POPULTRENDS IN POPULTRENDS IN POPULTRENDS IN POPULAAAAATION GROTION GROTION GROTION GROTION GROWTHWTHWTHWTHWTH

The population on the earth is more than sixbillion. It has grown to this size over centuries.In the early periods population of the world

grew very slowly. It is only during the last fewhundred years that population has increasedat an alarming rate.

Fig. 2.3 tells the story of populationgrowth. After the evolution and introductionof agriculture about 8,000 to 12,000 yearsago, the size of population was small roughly8 million. In the first century A.D. it was below

Observe the news items and think of some reasons why certain countries become attractive destinations for migrants.

Migration to cities are traditionally age and sex selective i.e. more men of working age groups move to cities.Can you think of some reason why 22 per cent of migrants to Mumbai are kids?


300 million. The expanding world trade duringthe sixteenth and seventeenth century, set thestage for rapid population growth. Around1750, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution,the world population was 550 million. Worldpopulation exploded in the eighteenth centuryafter the Industrial Revolution. Technologicaladvancement achieved so far helped in thereduction of birth rate and provided a stage foraccelerated population growth.

How Science and TechnologyHow Science and TechnologyHow Science and TechnologyHow Science and TechnologyHow Science and Technologyhelped Population Growth?helped Population Growth?helped Population Growth?helped Population Growth?helped Population Growth?

The steam engine replaced human andanimal energy and also providedmechanised energy of water and wind. Thisincreased agricultural and industrialproduction.

Inoculation against epidemics and othercommunicable diseases, improvement inmedical facilities and sanitation contributedto a rapid decline in death rates throughoutthe world.

Human population increased more than ten times inthe past 500 hundred years.

In the twentieth century itself the population hasincreased four times.

Nearly 80 million people are added each year.

DOUBLING TIME OF WORLD POPULDOUBLING TIME OF WORLD POPULDOUBLING TIME OF WORLD POPULDOUBLING TIME OF WORLD POPULDOUBLING TIME OF WORLD POPULAAAAATIONTIONTIONTIONTION

It took more than a million years for the humanpopulation to attain the one billion mark. But

Table 2.1: Doubling Time of World Population

Period Population Time in whichPopulation Doubles

10,000 B.C. 5 million1650 A.D. 500 million 1,500 years1850 A.D. 1,000 million 200 years1930 A.D. 2,000 million 80 years1975 A.D. 4,000 million 45 years2012 A.D. 8,000 million projected figure 37 years

it took only 12 years for it to rise from 5 billionto 6 billion. See the Table 2.1 carefully whichshows that doubling time of world populationis reducing fast.

There is a great variation among regionsin doubling their population. Table 2.2 showsthat developed countries are taking more timeto double their population as compared todeveloping countries. Most of the populationgrowth is taking place in the developing world,where population is exploding. Why is this so?

Table 2.2: Population Growth Rates (%) 1995-2000

High Low

Liberia 8.2 Latvia 1.5Somalia 4.2 Estonia 1.2Yemen 3.7 Russia, Ukraine 0.6Saudi Arabia 3.4 Albania, BulgariaOman 3.3 Croatia

Slovania, Czech RepublicGermany, Portugal 0.1Spain, ItalyDenmark 0

SPSPSPSPSPAAAAATIAL PATIAL PATIAL PATIAL PATIAL PATTERN OF POPULTTERN OF POPULTTERN OF POPULTTERN OF POPULTTERN OF POPULAAAAATION CHANGETION CHANGETION CHANGETION CHANGETION CHANGE

Population growth in different parts of the worldcan be compared. The growth of population islow in developed countries as compared todeveloping countries. There is negativecorrelation between economic development andpopulation growth.

Although the annual rate of populationchange (1.4 per cent) seems to be low (Table2.3), it is actually not so. This is because: When a small annual rate is applied to a

very large population, it will lead to a largepopulation change.


Even if the growth rate continues to decline,the total population grows each year. Theinfant mortality rate may have increasedas has the death rate during childbirth.

Table 2.3: Growth of Population 2004-05 over 1990-95

Growth Rate

Region 1990-95 2004-05(Estimated)

World 1.6 1.4Africa 2.4 2.6Europe 0.2 0.0North & Central America 1.4 1.1South America 1.7 1.4Asia 1.6 1.4Oceania 1.5 1.3(Australia, New Zealand and Fiji)

IMPIMPIMPIMPIMPAAAAACT OF POPULCT OF POPULCT OF POPULCT OF POPULCT OF POPULAAAAATION CHANGETION CHANGETION CHANGETION CHANGETION CHANGE

A small increase in population is desirable in agrowing economy. However, population growthbeyond a certain level leads to problems. Of

Figure 2.4: Population Doubling Time

these the depletion of resources is the mostserious. Population decline is also a matter ofconcern. It indicates that resources that hadsupported a population earlier are nowinsufficient to maintain the population.

The deadly HIV/AIDS epidemics in Africa andsome parts of the Commonwealth of IndependentStates (CIS) and Asia have pushed up death ratesand reduced average life expectancy. This hasslowed down population growth.

The Doubling Story... It willtake 36 years

The annual population growth rate in Indiais 1.9 per cent. At this rate Indias populationof over 1 billion will double in 36 years.Some developed countries will take 318years to double their population whereassome countries still do not show symptomsof doubling their population.


DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITIONDEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITIONDEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITIONDEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITIONDEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION

Demographic transition theory can be used todescribe and predict the future population ofany area. The theory tells us that population ofany region changes from high births and highdeaths to low births and low deaths as societyprogresses from rural agrarian and illiterate tourban industrial and literate society. Thesechanges occur in stages which are collectivelyknown as the demographic cycle.

Rural,Agrarian

Urban,Industrial

Demographic

Transition

The Fig. 2.5 explains the three-stagedmodel of Demographic Transition Theory:

35

15

High Fluctuating

StageI

StageII

StageIII

CB

R/C

DR

NaturalIncrease inPopulation

BR

DR

BangladeshRainforest

tribes

Peru Sri LankaKenya

CanadaJapanUSA

Time

PresentWorld

examples

Low Fluctuating

Expanding

Fig. 2.5: Demographic Transition Theory

The first stage has high fertility and highmortality because people reproduce more tocompensate for the deaths due to epidemicsand variable food supply. The populationgrowth is slow and most of the people are

engaged in agriculture where large families arean asset. Life expectancy is low, people aremostly illiterate and have low levels oftechnology. Two hundred years ago all thecountries of the world were in this stage.

Fertility remains high in the beginning ofsecond stage but it declines with time. This isaccompanied by reduced mortality rate.Improvements in sanitation and healthconditions lead to decline in mortality. Becauseof this gap the net addition to population ishigh.

In the last stage, both fertility and mortalitydecline considerably. The population is eitherstable or grows slowly. The population becomesurbanised, literate and has high technical know-how and deliberately controls the family size.

This shows that human beings areextremely flexible and are able to adjust theirfertility.

In the present day, different countries areat different stages of demographic transition.

POPULPOPULPOPULPOPULPOPULAAAAATION CONTROL MEASURESTION CONTROL MEASURESTION CONTROL MEASURESTION CONTROL MEASURESTION CONTROL MEASURES

Family planning is the spacing or preventingthe birth of children. Access to family planningservices is a significant factor in limitingpopulation growth and improving womenshealth. Propaganda, free availability ofcontraceptives and tax disincentives for largefamilies are some of the measures which canhelp population control.

Thomas Malthus in his theory (1793)stated that the number of people wouldincrease faster than the food supply. Anyfurther increase would result in a populationcrash caused by famine, disease and war. Thepreventive checks are better than the physicalchecks. For the sustainability of our resources,the world will have to control the rapidpopulation increase



1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.(i) Which one of the following continents has the highest growth of

population?(a) Africa (c) Asia(b) South America (d) North America

(ii) Which one of the following is not an area of sparse population?(a) The Atacama (c) Equatorial region(b) South-east Asia (d) Polar regions

(iii) Which one of the following is not a push factor ?(a) Water shortage (c) Unemployment(b) Medical/educational facilities (d) Epidemics

(iv) Which one of the following is not a fact ?(a) Human population increased more than ten times during the past

500 years.(b) Nearly 80 million people are added to the world population each year.(c) It took 100 years for the population to rise from 5 billion to 6 billion.(d) Population growth is high in the first stage of demographic transition?

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.(i) Name three geographical factors that influence the distribution of

population.(ii) There are a number of areas with high population density in the world.

Why does this happen?(iii) What are the three components of population change?

3. Distinguish between:(i) Birth rate and death rate.(ii) Push factors and pull factors of migration.

4. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.(i) Discuss the factors influencing the distribution and density of population

in the world.(ii) Discuss the three stages of demographic transition.

Map SkillMap SkillMap SkillMap SkillMap SkillOn the outline map of the world, show and name the following.(i) Countries of Europe and Asia with negative growth rate of population.(ii) African countries with growth rate of population more than three per

cent. (You may refer to Appendix 1).

Project/ActivityProject/ActivityProject/ActivityProject/ActivityProject/Activity(i) Has someone in your family migrated? Write about her/his place of

destination. What made her/him migrate?(ii) Write a brief report on the distribution and density of population in

your state.


People of any country are diverse in manyrespects. Each person is unique in her/his ownway. People can be distinguished by their age,sex and their place of residence. Some of theother distinguishing attributes of the populationare occupation, education and life expectancy.

SEX COMPOSITIONSEX COMPOSITIONSEX COMPOSITIONSEX COMPOSITIONSEX COMPOSITION

The number of women and men in a country isan important demographic characteristic. Theratio between the number of women and men inthe population is called the Sex Ratio. In somecountries it is calculated by using the formula:

Male Population 1000

Female Population

or the number of males per thousandfemales.

In India, the sex ratio is worked out using theformula:

Female Population 1000

Male Population

or the number of females per thousand males.

The sex ratio is an important informationabout the status of women in a country.

In regions where gender discrimination isrampant, the sex ratio is bound to beunfavourable to women. Such areas are thosewhere the practice of female foeticide, femaleinfanticide and domestic violence against womenare prevalent. One of the reasons could be lowersocio-economic status of women in these areas.You must remember that more women in thepopulation does not mean they have a betterstatus. It could be that the men might havemigrated to other areas for employment.

Natural Advantage v/sSocial Disadvantage

Females have a biological advantage overmales as they tend to be more resilient thanmales yet this advantage is cancelled outby the social disadvantages anddiscriminations that they face.

PopulationComposition


On an average, the world populationreflects a sex ratio of 990 females per 1000males. The highest sex ratio in the world hasbeen recorded in Latvia which is 1187 femalesper 1000 males. In contrast, the lowest sex ratiooccurs in U.A.E. which is 468 females per 1000males.

The world pattern of sex ratio does notexhibit variations in the developed regions ofthe world. The sex ratio is favourable for femalesin 139 countries of the world and unfavourablefor them in the remaining 72 countries listedby the United Nations.

In general, Asia has a low sex ratio.Countries like China, India, Saudi Arabia,Pakistan, Afghanistan have a lower sex ratio.

On the other extreme is greater part ofEurope (including Russia) where males are inminority. A deficit of males in the populationsof many European countries is attributed tobetter status of women, and an excessivelymale-dominated out-migration to differentparts of the world in the past.

Age Structure

Age structure represents the number of peopleof different age groups. This is an importantindicator of population composition, since alarge size of population in the age group of 15-59 indicates a large working population. Agreater proportion of population above 60 yearsrepresents an ageing population which requiresmore expenditure on health care facilities.Similarly high proportion of young populationwould mean that the region has a high birthrate and the population is youthful.

Age-Sex Pyramid

The age-sex structure of a population refersto the number of females and males indifferent age groups. A population pyramidis used to show the age-sex structure of thepopulation.

The shape of the population pyramidreflects the characteristics of the population.The left side shows the percentage of males whilethe right side shows the percentage of womenin each age group.

Fig. 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 show different typesof population pyramids.

Expanding Populations

The age-sex pyramid of Nigeria as you can seeis a triangular shaped pyramid with a widebase and is typical of less developed countries.These have larger populations in lower agegroups due to high birth rates. If you constructthe pyramids for Bangladesh and Mexico, itwould look the same.

NIGERIA, 2003

Data source: Demographic Year Book, 2003, United Nations Statistics Division.Data refer to national projection

80+75-7970-7465-6960-6455-5950-5445-4940-4435-3930-3425-2920-2415-1910-14

5-90-4

Age

Gro

ups

Yea

rs

10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10

MALE FEMALE

Per cent

Fig. 3.1: Expanding Population

Constant Population

Australias age-sex pyramid is bell shaped andtapered towards the top. This shows birth anddeath rates are almost equal leading to a nearconstant population.

Per centData source: Demographic Year Book, 2003, United Nations Statistics Division.

Age

Gro

ups

Yea

rs

AUSTRALIA, 2003

10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10

85+80-8475-7970-7465-6960-6455-5950-5445-4940-4435-3930-3425-2920-2415-1910-14

5-90-4

FEMALEMALE

Fig. 3.2: Constant Population

Population Composition 19

Declining Populations

The Japan pyramid has a narrow base and atapered top showing low birth and death rates.The population growth in developed countriesis usually zero or negative.

Data source: Demographic Year Book, 2003, United Nations Statistics Division.Excluding diplomatic personnel outside the country and foreign military andcivilian personnel and their dependants stationed in the area

JAPAN, 2003

Per cent

Age

Gro

ups

Year

s

10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10

85+80-8475-7970-7465-6960-6455-5950-5445-4940-4435-3930-3425-2920-2415-1910-14

5-90-4

FEMALEMALE

Fig. 3.3: Declining Population

Draw a population pyramid of the children in your schooland describe its characteristics.

Ageing PopulationPopulation ageing is the process by whichthe share of the older population becomesproportionally larger. This is a newphenomenon of the twentieth century. In mostof the developed countries of the world,population in higher age groups has increaseddue to increased life expectancy. With areduction in birth rates, the proportion ofchildren in the population has declined.

RURAL URBRURAL URBRURAL URBRURAL URBRURAL URBAN COMPOSITIONAN COMPOSITIONAN COMPOSITIONAN COMPOSITIONAN COMPOSITION

The division of population into rural and urbanis based on the residence. This division isnecessary because rural and urban life stylesdiffer from each other in terms of their livelihoodand social conditions. The age-sex-occupationalstructure, density of population and level ofdevelopment vary between rural and urban areas.

The criteria for differentiating rural andurban population varies from country to country.In general terms rural areas are those wherepeople are engaged in primary activities and urbanareas are those when majority of the workingpopulation is engaged in non-primary activities.

Fig. 3.4 shows rural urban sex compositionof selected countries. The rural and urbandifferences in sex ratio in Canada and WestEuropean countries like Finland are just theopposite of those in African and Asian countrieslike Zimbabwe and Nepal respectively. InWestern countries, males outnumber femalesin rural areas and females outnumber the malesin urban areas. In countries like Nepal, Pakistanand India the case is reverse. The excess offemales in urban areas of U.S.A., Canada andEurope is the result of influx of females fromrural areas to avail of the vast job opportunities.Farming in these developed countries is alsohighly mechanised and remains largely a maleoccupation. By contrast the sex ratio in Asianurban areas remains male dominated due tothe predominance of male migration. It is alsoworth noting that in countries like India, femaleparticipation in farming activity in rural area isfairly high. Shortage of housing, high cost ofliving, paucity of job opportunities and lack ofsecurity in cities, discourage women to migratefrom rural to urban areas.

Literacy

Proportion of literate population of a countryin an indicator of its socio-economicdevelopment as it reveals the standard of living,social status of females, availability ofeducational facilities and policies ofgovernment. Level of economic development isboth a cause and consequence of literacy. InIndia literacy rate denotes the percentage ofpopulation above 7 years of age, who is able toread, write and have the ability to do arithmeticcalculations with understanding.

Occupational Structure

The working population (i.e. women and menof the age group 15 to 59) take part in variousoccupations ranging from agriculture, forestry,



1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.(i) Which one of the following has caused the sex ratio of the United Arab

Emirates to be low?

(a) Selective migration of male working population

(b) High birth rate of males

(c) Low birth rate of females

(d) High out migration of females

fishing, manufacturing construction,commercial transport, services, communicationand other unclassified services.

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and miningare classified as primary activitiesmanufacturing as secondary, transport,communication and other services as tertiaryand the jobs related to research and developingideas as quaternary activities. The proportionof working population engaged in these four

sectors is a good indicator of the levels ofeconomic development of a nation. This isbecause only a developed economy withindustries and infrastructure canaccommodate more workers in the secondary,tertiary and quaternary sector. If the economyis still in the primitive stages, then theproportion of people engaged in primaryactivities world be high as it involves extractionof natural resources.

9861083

941

1040

935

1051

908

10631129

1007 1012939

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0Finland Canada New Zealand Brazil Zimbabwe Nepal

RuralUrban

Fem

ales

per1

000

Mal

es

Fig. 3.4: Rural Urban Sex Composition, 2003 (Selected Countries)

Population Composition 21

(ii) Which one of the following figures represents the working age group of thepopulation?

(a) 15 to 65 years (c) 15 to 66 years

(b) 15 to 64 years (d) 15 to 59 years

(iii) Which one of the following countries has the highest sex ratio in the world?

(a) Latvia (c) Japan

(b) United Arab Emirates (d) France

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.(i) What do you understand by population composition?

(ii) What is the significance of age-structure?

(iii) How is sex-ratio measured?

3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words.(i) Describe the rural-urban composition of the population.

(ii) Discuss the factors responsible for imbalances in the sex-age found indifferent parts of the world and occupational structure.

Project/ActivityConstruct an age-sex pyramid for your district/state.


Human Development

The words growth and development are notnew to you. Look around you, almost everythingthat you can see (and many that you cannot)grows and develops. These may be plants, cities,ideas, nations, relationships or even youyourself! What does this mean?

Do growth and development meanthe same thing?Do they accompany each other?

This chapter discusses the concept ofhuman development as it pertains to nationsand communities.

GROGROGROGROGROWTH AND DEVELWTH AND DEVELWTH AND DEVELWTH AND DEVELWTH AND DEVELOPMENTOPMENTOPMENTOPMENTOPMENT

Both growth and development refer to changesover a period of time. The difference is thatgrowth is quantitative and value neutral. It mayhave a positive or a negative sign. This meansthat the change may be either positive (showingan increase) or negative (indicating a decrease).

Development means a qualitative changewhich is always value positive. This means thatdevelopment cannot take place unless there isan increment or addition to the existingconditions. Development occurs when positivegrowth takes place. Yet, positive growth doesnot always lead to development. Developmentoccurs when there is a positive change inquality.

For example, if the population of a citygrows from one lakh to two lakhs over a periodof time, we say the city has grown. However, if afacilities like housing, provision of basic servicesand other characteristics remain the same, thenthis growth has not been accompanied bydevelopment.

Can you think of a few more examples todifferentiate between growth and development?

Write a short essay or draw a set of pictures illustratinggrowth without development and growth withdevelopment.

For many decades, a countrys level ofdevelopment was measured only in terms of its

economic growth. This meant that the biggerthe economy of the country, the more developedit was considered, even though this growth didnot really mean much change in the lives of mostpeople.

The idea that the quality of life people enjoyin a country, the opportunities they have andfreedoms they enjoy, are important aspects ofdevelopment, is not new.

These ideas were clearly spelt out for thefirst time in the late eighties and early nineties.The works of two South Asian economists,Mahbub-ul-Haq and Amartya Sen areimportant in this regard.

The concept of human development wasintroduced by Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq. Dr Haq hasdescribed human development as developmentthat enlarges peoples choices and improvestheir lives. People are central to all developmentunder this concept. These choices are not fixedbut keep on changing. The basic goal ofdevelopment is to create conditions wherepeople can live meaningful lives.

A meaningful life is not just a long one. Itmust be a life with some purpose. This meansthat people must be healthy, be able to developtheir talents, participate in society and be freeto achieve their goals.

Do you know that cities can also grow negatively? Look at the photographs of this tsunamiaffected city. Are natural disasters the only reasons for negative growth in a citys size?

Band Aceh, June, 2004 Band Aceh, December, 2004

Human Development 23

Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq and Prof Amartya Sen were close friends and have worked together under the leadership of DrHaq to bring out the initial Human Development Reports. Both these South Asian economists have been able toprovide an alternative view of development.

A man of vision and compassion, Pakistani economist Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq created the Human DevelopmentIndex in 1990. According to him, development is all about enlarging peoples choices in order to lead long,healthy lives with dignity. The United Nations Development Programme has used his concept of human developmentto publish the Human Development Report annually since 1990.

Dr Haqs flexibility of mind and ability to think out of the box can be illustrated from one of his speeches wherehe quoted Shaw saying, You see things that are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask whynot?

Nobel Laureate Prof Amartya Sen saw an increase in freedom (or decrease in unfreedom) as the main objectiveof development. Interestingly, increasing freedoms is also one of the most effective ways of bringing aboutdevelopment. His work explores the role of social and political institutions and processes in increasing freedom.

The works of these economists are path breaking and have succeeded in bringing people to the centre of anydiscussion on development.


What is a Meaningful Life?What is a Meaningful Life?What is a Meaningful Life?What is a Meaningful Life?What is a Meaningful Life?

Which of these lives is a meaningful life?Which of these lives is a meaningful life?Which of these lives is a meaningful life?Which of these lives is a meaningful life?Which of these lives is a meaningful life?

Who do you think leads more meaningful life? What makes one of these more meaningful than the other?


Leading a long and healthy life, being ableto gain knowledge and having enough meansto be able to live a decent life are the mostimportant aspects of human development.

Therefore, access to resources, health andeducation are the key areas in humandevelopment. Suitable indicators have beendeveloped to measure each of these aspects. Canyou think of some?

Very often, people do not have thecapability and freedom to make even basicchoices. This may be due to their inability toacquire knowledge, their material poverty,social discrimination, inefficiency of institutionsand other reasons. This prevents them fromleading healthy lives, being able to get educatedor to have the means to live a decent life.

Building peoples capabilities in the areasof health, education and access to resources istherefore, important in enlarging their choices.If people do not have capabilities in these areas,their choices also get limited.

For example, an uneducated child cannotmake the choice to be a doctor because herchoice has got limited by her lack of education.Similarly, very often poor people cannot chooseto take medical treatment for disease becausetheir choice is limited by their lack of resources.

Enact a five-minute play with your classmates showinghow choices are limited due to lack of capability in theareas of either income, education or health.

THE FOUR PILLARS OF HUMANTHE FOUR PILLARS OF HUMANTHE FOUR PILLARS OF HUMANTHE FOUR PILLARS OF HUMANTHE FOUR PILLARS OF HUMANDEVELDEVELDEVELDEVELDEVELOPMENTOPMENTOPMENTOPMENTOPMENT

Just as any building is supported by pillars,the idea of human development is supportedby the concepts of equity, sustainability,productivity and empowerment.

Equity refers to making equal access toopportunities available to everybody. Theopportunities available to people must be equalirrespective of their gender, race, income andin the Indian case, caste. Yet this is very oftennot the case and happens in almost everysociety.

For example, in any country, it is interestingto see which group the most of the schooldropouts belong to. This should then lead to anunderstanding of the reasons for such behaviour.In India, a large number of women and personsbelonging to socially and economicallybackward groups drop out of school. This showshow the choices of these groups get limited bynot having access to knowledge.

Sustainability means continuity in theavailability of opportunities. To havesustainable human development, eachgeneration must have the same opportunities.All environmental, financial and humanresources must be used keeping in mind thefuture. Misuse of any of these resources willlead to fewer opportunities for futuregenerations.

A good example is about the importanceof sending girls to school. If a community doesnot stress the importance of sending its girlchildren to school, many opportunities will belost to these young women when they grow up.Their career choices will be severely curtailedand this would affect other aspects of their lives.So each generation must ensure the availabilityof choices and opportunities to its futuregenerations.

Productivity here means human labourproductivity or productivity in terms of humanwork. Such productivity must be constantlyenriched by building capabilities in people.Ultimately, it is people who are the real wealthof nations. Therefore, efforts to increase theirknowledge, or provide better health facilitiesultimately leads to better work efficiency.

Empowerment means to have the powerto make choices. Such power comes fromincreasing freedom and capability. Goodgovernance and people-oriented policies arerequired to empower people. The empowermentof socially and economically disadvantagedgroups is of special importance.

Talk to the vegetable vendor in your neighbourhood andfind out if she has gone to school. Did she drop out ofschool? Why? What does this tell you about her choicesand the freedom she has? Note how her opportunitieswere limited because of her gender, caste and income.


APPROAPPROAPPROAPPROAPPROAAAAACHES TCHES TCHES TCHES TCHES TO HUMANO HUMANO HUMANO HUMANO HUMANDEVELDEVELDEVELDEVELDEVELOPMENTOPMENTOPMENTOPMENTOPMENT

There are many ways of looking at the problemof human development. Some of the importantapproaches are: (a) The income approach; (b) Thewelfare approach; (c) Minimum needs approach;and (d) Capabilities approach (Table 4.1).

MEASURING HUMAN DEVELMEASURING HUMAN DEVELMEASURING HUMAN DEVELMEASURING HUMAN DEVELMEASURING HUMAN DEVELOPMENTOPMENTOPMENTOPMENTOPMENT

The human development index (HDI) ranks thecountries based on their performance in the keyareas of health, education and access toresources. These rankings are based on a scorebetween 0 to 1 that a country earns from itsrecord in the key areas of human development.

The indicator chosen to assess health isthe life expectancy at birth. A higher lifeexpectancy means that people have a greaterchance of living longer and healthier lives.

The adult literacy rate and the grossenrolment ratio represent access to knowledge.The number of adults who are able to read and

write and the number of children enrolled inschools show how easy or difficult it is to accessknowledge in a particular country.

Access to resources is measured in termsof purchasing power (in U.S. dollars).

Each of these dimensions is given aweightage of 1/3. The human developmentindex is a sum total of the weights assigned toall these dimensions.

The closer a score is to one, the greater isthe level of human development. Therefore, ascore of 0.983 would be considered very highwhile 0.268 would mean a very low level ofhuman development.

The human development index measuresattainments in human development. It reflectswhat has been achieved in the key areas ofhuman development. Yet it is not the mostreliable measure. This is because it does notsay anything about the distribution.

The human poverty index is related to thehuman development index. This indexmeasures the shortfall in human development.

(a) Income Approach This is one of the oldest approaches to humandevelopment. Human development is seen as beinglinked to income. The idea is that the level of incomereflects the level of freedom an individual enjoys.Higher the level of income, the higher is the level ofhuman development.

(b) Welfare Approach This approach looks at human beings as beneficiariesor targets of all development activities. The approachargues for higher government expenditure oneducation, health, social secondary and amenities.People are not participants in development but onlypassive recipients. The government is responsible forincreasing levels of human development bymaximising expenditure on welfare.

(c) Basic Needs Approach This approach was initially proposed by theInternational Labour Organisation (ILO). Six basicneeds i.e.: health, education, food, water supply,sanitation, and housing were identified. The questionof human choices is ignored and the emphasis is onthe provision of basic needs of defined sections.

(d) Capability Approach This approach is associated with Prof. Amartya Sen.Building human capabilities in the areas of health,education and access to resources is the key toincreasing human development.

Table 4.1: Approaches to Human Development


It is a non-income measure. The probability ofnot surviving till the age of 40, the adult illiteracyrate, the number of people who do not haveaccess to clean water, and the number of smallchildren who are underweight are all taken intoaccount to show the shortfall in humandevelopment in any region. Often the humanpoverty index is more revealing than the humandevelopment index.

Looking at both these measures of humandevelopment together gives an accurate pictureof the human development situation in acountry.

The ways to measure human developmentare constantly being refined and newer ways ofcapturing different elements of humandevelopment are being researched. Researchershave found links between the level of corruptionor political freedom in a particular region. Thereis also a discussion regarding a politicalfreedom index and, a listing of the most corruptcountries. Can you think of other links to thelevel of human development?

Since 1990, the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) has beenpublishing the Human Development Reportevery year. This report provides a rank-wiselist of all member countries according to thelevel of human development. The HumanDevelopment index and the Human Povertyindex are two important indices to measurehuman development used by the UNDP.

Bhutan is the only country in the world toofficially proclaim the Gross NationalHappiness (GNH) as the measure of thecountrys progress. Material progress andtechnological developments are approachedmore cautiously taking into consideration thepossible harm they might bring to theenvironment or the other aspects of culturaland spiritual life of the Bhutanese. This simplymeans material progress cannot come at thecost of happiness. GNH encourages us tothink of the spiritual, non-material andqualitative aspects of development.

INTERNINTERNINTERNINTERNINTERNAAAAATIONTIONTIONTIONTIONAL COMPAL COMPAL COMPAL COMPAL COMPARISONSARISONSARISONSARISONSARISONS

International comparisons of humandevelopment are interesting. Size of the territoryand per capita income are not directly relatedto human development. Often smaller countrieshave done better than larger ones in humandevelopment. Similarly, relatively poorernations have been ranked higher than richerneighbours in terms of human development.

For example, Sri Lanka, Trinidad andTobago have a higher rank than India in thehuman development index despite havingsmaller economies. Similarly, within India,Kerala performs much better than Punjab andGujarat in human development despite havinglower per capita income.

Countries can be classified into threegroups on the basis of the human developmentscores earned by them (Table 4.2).

Table 4.2: Human Development: Categories, Criteriaand Countries

Level of Human Score in Number ofDevelopment Development Countries

Index

High above 0.8 57

Medium between 0.5 up to 880.799

Low below 0.5 32

Source: Human Development Report, 2005

Countries with High Index Value

Countries with high human development indexare those which have a score of over 0.8.


You will notice that many of these countrieshave been the former imperial powers. The degreeof social diversity in these countries is not veryhigh. Many of the countries with a high humandevelopment score are located in Europe andrepresent the industrialised western world. Yetthere are striking numbers of non-Europeancountries also who have made it to this list.

Countries with Medium Index Value

Countries with medium levels of humandevelopment form the largest group. There area total of 88 countries in this group. Most ofthese are countries which have emerged in theperiod after the Second World War. Somecountries from this group were former colonieswhile many others have emerged after the breakup of the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1990. Manyof these countries have been rapidly improvingtheir human development score by adoptingmore people-oriented policies and reducingsocial discrimination. Most of these countrieshave a much higher social diversity than thecountries with higher human developmentscores. Many in this group have faced politicalinstability and social uprisings at some pointof time in their recent history.

According to the Human Development Reportof 2005, this group includes 57 countries. Table4.3 shows the countries in this group.

Table 4.3: Top Ten Countries with High Value Index

Sl. No. Country Sl. No. Country

1. Norway 6. Sweden2. Iceland 7. Switzerland3. Australia 8. Ireland4. Luxembourg 9. Belgium5. Canada 10. United States

Source: Human Development Report, 2005

Try to locate these countries on a map.Can you see what these countries have incommon? To find out more visit the officialgovernment websites of these countries.

Providing education and healthcare is animportant government priority. Countries withhigher human development are those where alot of investment in the social sector has takenplace. Altogether, a higher investment in peopleand good governance has set this group ofcountries apart from the others.

Try to find out the percentage of thecountrys income spent on these sectors. Canyou think of some other characteristics thatthese countries have in common?

What could bethe reasons forIndia to bebehind 125countries inHDI?



1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.(i) Which one of the following best describes development?

(a) an increase in size (c) a positive change in quality

(b) a constant in size (d) a simple change in the quality

(ii) Which one of the following scholars introduced the concept of HumanDevelopment?

(a) Prof. Amartya Sen (c) Dr Mahabub-ul-Haq

(b) Ellen C. Semple (d) Ratzel

(iii) Which one of the following is not a country with high human development?

(a) Norway (c) Argentina

(b) Japan (d) Egypt

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.(i) What are the three basic areas of human development?

(ii) Name the four main components of human development?

(iii) How are countries classified on the basis of human development index?

3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words.(i) What do you understand by the term human development?

(ii) What do equity and sustainability refer to within the concept of humandevelopment?

Countries with Low Index Value

As many as 32 countries record low levels ofhuman development. A large proportion ofthese are small countries which have been goingthrough political turmoil and social instabilityin the form of civil war, famine or a highincidence of diseases. There is an urgent needto address the human developmentrequirements of this group through wellthought out policies.

International comparisons of humandevelopment can show some very interestingresults. Often people tend to blame low levelsof human development on the culture of thepeople. For example, X country has lowerhuman development because its people followY religion, or belong to Z community. Suchstatements are misleading.

To understand why a particular regionkeeps reporting low or high levels of humandevelopment it is important to look at thepattern of government expenditure on thesocial sector. The political environment of thecountry and the amount of freedom peoplehave is also important. Countries with highlevels of human development invest more inthe social sectors and are generally free frompolitical turmoil and instability. Distributionof the countrys resources is also far moreequitable.

On the other hand, places with low levelsof human development tend to spend more ondefence rather than social sectors. This showsthat these countries tend to be located in areasof political instability and have not been ableto initiate accelerated economic development.


Project/ActivityProject/ActivityProject/ActivityProject/ActivityProject/Activity

Make a list of the ten most corrupt countries and ten least corrupt countries.Compare their scores on the human development index. What inferences canyou draw?

Consult the latest Human Development Report for this.

Unit-IIIUnit-IIIUnit-IIIUnit-IIIUnit-IIIChapter-5

Primary Activities

Human activities which generate income areknown as economic activities. Economicactivities are broadly grouped into primary,secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities.Primary activities are directly dependent onenvironment as these refer to utilisation ofearths resources such as land, water,vegetation, building materials and minerals. It,thus includes, hunting and gathering, pastoralactivities, fishing, forestry, agriculture, andmining and quarrying.

Why are the inhabitants of coastal andplain regions engaged in fishing andagriculture respectively? What are thephysical and social factors which affect thetype of primary activities in differentregions?

People engaged in primary activities are called red-collar workers due to the outdoor nature of their work.

HUNTING AND GHUNTING AND GHUNTING AND GHUNTING AND GHUNTING AND GAAAAATHERINGTHERINGTHERINGTHERINGTHERING

The earliest human beings depended on theirimmediate environment for their sustenance.They subsisted on: (a) animals which theyhunted; and (b) the edible plants which theygathered from forests in the vicinity.

Primitive societies depended on wildanimals. People located in very cold andextremely hot climates survived on hunting. Thepeople in the coastal areas still catch fish thoughfishing has experienced modernisation due totechnological progress. Many species, now havebecome extinct or endangered due to illegalhunting (poaching). The early hunters usedprimitive tools made of stones, twigs or arrowsso the number of animals killed was limited.Why has hunting been banned in India?

Gathering and hunting are the oldesteconomic activity known. These are carried outat different levels with different orientations.

Gathering is practised in regions withharsh climatic conditions. It often involvesprimitive societies, who extract, both plants and


animals to satisfy their needs for food, shelterand clothing. This type of activity requires asmall amount of capital investment andoperates at very low level of technology. Theyield per person is very low and little or nosurplus is produced.

Fig. 5.1: Women Gathering Oranges in Mizoram

Fig. 5.2: Areas of Subsistence Gathering

Gathering is practised in: (i) high latitudezones which include northern Canada, northernEurasia and southern Chile; (ii) Low latitudezones such as the Amazon Basin, tropicalAfrica, Northern fringe of Australia and theinterior parts of Southeast Asia (Fig. 5.2).

In modern times some gathering is market-oriented and has become commercial. Gathererscollect valuable plants such as leaves, barks oftrees and medicinal plants and after simpleprocessing sell the products in the market. Theyuse various parts of the plants, for example,the bark is used for quinine, tanin extract andcork leaves supply materials for beverages,drugs, cosmetics, fibres, thatch and fabrics;nuts for food and oils and tree trunk yieldrubber, balata, gums and resins.

The name of the part of the chewing gum after the flavouris gone? It is called Chicle it is made from the milkyjuice of zapota tree.

Gathering has little chance of becomingimportant at the global level. Products of such an

Primary Activities 33

activity cannot compete in the world market.Moreover, synthetic products often of betterquality and at lower prices, have replaced manyitems supplied by the gatherers in tropical forests.

PASTORALISM

At some stage in history, with the realisationthat hunting is an unsustainable activity,human beings might have thought ofdomestication of animals. People living indifferent climatic conditions selected anddomesticated animals found in those regions.Depending on the geographical factors, andtechnological development, animal rearingtoday is practised either at the subsistence orat the commercial level.

Nomadic Herding

Nomadic herding or pastoral nomadism is aprimitive subsistence activity, in which theherders rely on animals for food, clothing, shelter,tools and transport. They move from one placeto another along with their livestock, dependingon the amount and quality of pastures andwater. Each nomadic community occupies awell-identified territory as a matter of tradition.

Fig. 5.3: Nomads taking their sheep up to theMountains at the onset of summer

A wide variety of animals is kept indifferent regions. In tropical Africa, cattle arethe most important livestock, while in Saharaand Asiatic deserts, sheep, goats and camelare reared. In the mountainous areas of Tibetand Andes, yak and llamas and in the Arcticand sub Arctic areas, reindeer are the mostimportant animals.

Pastoral nomadism is associated withthree important regions. The core regionextends from the Atlantic shores of North Africaeastwards across the Arabian peninsula intoMongolia and Central China. The second regionextends over the tundra region of Eurasia. Inthe southern hemisphere there are small areasin South-west Africa and on the island ofMadagascar (Fig. 5.4)

Movement in search of pastures isundertaken e

Fundamentals of Human Geography

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