CHAPTER 2

The Demographic
Structure of Indian Society
Chapter at Glance Importance of Demographic Data
• Demography is the systematic study of population • Demographic data are important for the planning and
has Greek origin and composed of the two words, implementation of state policies, specially for
demos (people) and graphein (describe) which implies economic development and general public welfare.
the description of people.
• Aggregate statistics or the numerical characteristics
• Demography studies the trends and processes that refer to a large collectivity consisting of millions
associated with population including of people which offer a concrete and strong argument
- changes in population size; for the existence of social phenomena.
- patterns of births, deaths, and migration; • Formal demography is primarily concerned with the
- the structure and composition of the population, measurement and analysis of the components of
such as the relative proportions of women, men population change.
and different age groups. • Its focus is on quantitative analysis for which it has a
• Different varieties of demography - highly developed mathematical methodology suitable
- formal demography which is a largely quantitative for forecasting population growth and changes in the
field composition of population.
- social demography focuses on the social, Theories and Concepts in Demography
economic or political aspects of populations Malthusian Theory
• All demographic studies are based on processes of • English political economist Thomas Robert Malthus
counting or enumeration - census or survey which theory of population growth that outlined in his Essay
involves systemic collection of data on the people on Population (1798), was a rather pessimistic one.
residing within a specified territory.
• He argued that human populations tend to grow at a
• Social statistics - quantitative data on various aspects much faster rate than the rate at which the means of
of the population and economy.
human subsistence (specially food, but also clothing
• The American census of 1790 was probably the first and other agriculture-based products) can grow.
modern census, and the practice was soon taken up
• Humanity is condemned to live in poverty forever
in Europe as well in the early 1800s.
because the growth of agricultural production will
• In India, censuses began to be conducted by the always be overtaken by population growth.
British Indian government between 1867-72, and
regular ten yearly (or decennial) censuses have been • While population rises in geometric progression (i.e.,
conducted since 1881. like 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 etc.), agricultural production can
only grow in arithmetic progression (i.e., like 2, 4, 6,
• Independent India continued the practice, started in
8, 10 etc.).
1951, the most recent being in 2011. The Indian
census is the largest such exercise in the world (since • 'Preventive checks' is a way to control population
China, which has a slightly larger population, does through postponing marriage or practicing sexual
not conduct regular censuses). abstinence or celibacy.
• Malthus believed therefore that 'positive checks' to • It takes longer for society to adjust to change and
population growth - in the form of famines and alter its reproductive behaviour (which was evolved
diseases were inevitable as they were nature's way during the period of poverty and high death rates) to
of dealing with the imbalance between food supply suit the new situation of relative prosperity and longer
and increasing population. life spans.
Theory of Disapproved by Other Theories • In India too, the demographic transition is not yet complete
as the mortality rate has been reduced but the birth rate
• The pattern of population growth began to change in
has not been brought down to the same extent.
the latter half of nineteenth century, and by the end
of the first quarter of the twentieth century these Some Indicators of Population Growth
changes were quite dramatic. • Birth rate is the total number of live births in a particular
• Birth rates had declined, and outbreaks of epidemic area (an entire country, a state, a district or other
diseases were being controlled. territorial unit) during a specified period (usually a
year) divided by the total population of that area in
• Malthus's predictions were proved false because both
thousands. In other words, the birth rate is the number
food production and standards of living continued to of live births per 1000 population.
rise despite the rapid growth of population.
• The death rate is a similar statistic, expressed as
• Malthus was also criticised by liberal and Marxist the number of deaths in a given area during a given
scholars for asserting that poverty was caused by time per 1000 population. These statistics depend
population growth. on the reporting of births and deaths by the families
• The critics argued that problems like poverty and in which they occur.
starvation were caused by the unequal distribution of • The rate of natural increase or the growth rate of
economic resources rather than by population growth. population refers to the difference between the birth
• An unjust social system allowed a wealthy and rate and the death rate.
privileged minority to live in luxury while the vast - When difference is 'zero' or less, population is
majority of the people were forced to live in poverty. 'stabilized' or has reached the 'replacement
Theory of Demographic Transition level' that is the rate of growth required for new
• It suggested that population growth is linked to overall generations to replace the older ones that are
levels of economic development and that every society dying out.
follows a typical pattern of developmentrelated • Negative growth rate means fertility levels are below
population growth. the replacement level. Japan, Russia, Italy and
Eastern Europe are some examples of it.
• Three basic stages of population growth -
• The fertility rate refers to the number of live births per
- The first stage is that of low population growth in
1000 women in the child-bearing age group, usually
a societ y that is underdev el oped and
taken to be 15 to 49 years. This is a 'crude' rate
technologically backward.
which is a rough average for an entire population and
- Second stage - Growth rates are low because does not take into account the differences across
both the death rate and the birth rate are very age-groups.
high, so that the difference between the two (or
• Total fertility rate refers to the total number of live
the net growth rate) is low. births that a hypothetical woman would have if she
- The third (and last) stage is also one of low growth lived through the reproductive age group and had the
in a developed society where both death rate and average number of babies in each segment of this
birth rate have been reduced considerably and age group as determined by the age-specific fertility
the difference between them is again small. rates for that area.
- Between these two stages is a transitional stage • The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of
of movement from a backward to an advanced babies before the age of one year per 1000 live births.
stage, and this stage is characterised by very • The maternal mortality rate is the number of women
high rates of growth of population. who die in childbirth per 1,00,000 live births.
• 'Population explosion' happens because death rates • High rate of infant and maternal mortality rates
are brought down relatively quickly through advanced indicates backwardness and poverty. Improvement
methods of disease control, public health, and better in these rates indicates improved medical facilities,
nutrition. level of education, awareness and prosperity.
• The sex ratio refers to the number of females per • The principal reasons for the decline in the death rate
1000 males in a given area at a specified time period. after 1921 were increased levels of control over
- Naturally, 943 to 952 female babies for every 1000 famines and epidemic diseases.
males are considered as sext ratio is in favor of • The major epidemic diseases in the past were fevers
females. The reasons are - of various sorts, plague, smallpox and cholera.
i. Girl babies appear to have an advantage over • Epidemic was controlled by - improvements in medical
boy babies in terms of resistance to disease cures for these diseases, programmes for mass
in infancy. vaccination, and efforts to improve sanitation
ii. At the other end of the life cycle, women • Famines were also a major and recurring source of
have tended to outlive men in most societies, increased mortality. Famines were caused by high
so that there are more older women than men. levels of continuing poverty and malnutrition in an agro-
climatic environment that was very vulnerable to
- Countries like China, South Korea and India, sex
variations in rainfall.
ratio is declining due to 'son preference' and
Factors
negligence to girl child.
- Lack of adequate means of transportation and
- the age structure of the population refers to the
communication
proportion of persons in different age groups
relative to the total population. Factors - - Inadequate efforts of states to control the situation

- poor medical facilities, • The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act is the latest state initiative to tackle
- prevalence of disease the problem of hunger and starvation in rural areas.
- other factors like quality of live, development, etc. Variation in Fertility Rates in India
- the dependency ratio is a measure comparing • Unlike the death rate, the birth rate has not registered
the portion of a population which is composed of a sharp f all as birth rate is a sociocultural
dependents (i.e., elderly people who are too old phenomenon that is relatively slow to change.
to work, and children who are too young to work)
• Increased levels of prosperity exert a strong downward
with the portion that is in the working age group, pull on the birth rate.
generally defined as 15 to 64 years.
• Once infant mortality rates decline, and there is an
Dependency ratio (%) overall increase in the levels of education and
population below 15 or above 64 awareness, family size begins to fall.
=
population in the 15-64 age group • Some states, like Andhra Pradesh, Himachal
- rising dependency ratio leads to ageing Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have
population i.e. cause for worry managed to bring down their total fertility rates (TFR)
to 1.7 each (2016). This means that the average
- falling dependency ratio I source of economic
woman in these states produces only 1.7 children,
growth and prosperity. which is below the 'replacement level' and Kerala's
- demographic dividend - less ageing population TFR is also below the replacement level, which means
and high working population benefits country that the population is going to decline in future.
which flow from the changing age structure. This • Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar
benefit is temporary because the larger pool of Pradesh, which still have very high TFRs. In 2016,
working age people will eventually turn into non- the TFRs of these states were 3.3, 2.8, 2.7 and 3.1,
working old people. respectively.
Size and Growth of India's Population • According to the Economic Survey 2018-19, India's
• India is the second most populous country in the total birth rate was 22.4, among them rural birth rate
world after China. was 22.4 and urban birth rate was 17.3.
• Before 1931, both death rates and birth rates were • The highest birth rate in India is of Uttar Pradesh
high, whereas, after this transitional moment the death (25.9) and Bihar (26.4), and they will also account for
rates fell sharply but the birth rate only fell slightly. about half (50%) of the additions to the Indian
population upto the year 2041.
Age Structure of Indian Population
• India has a very young population - that is, the majority of Indians tend to be young, and the average age is also
less than that for most other countries.
• The bias towards younger age groups in the age structure is believed to be an advantage for India. Like the East
Asian economies in the past decade and like Ireland today, India is supposed to be benefitting from a 'demographic
dividend'.
• This dividend arises from the fact that the current generation of working-age people is a relatively large one, and it
has only a relatively small preceding generation of old people to support.
• As with fertility rates, there are wide regional variations • Even Kerala, the state with the better overall sex ratio
in the age structure as well. While a state like Kerala does not do too well at 964, while the highest child
is beginning to acquire an age structure like that of sex ratio of 972 is found in Arunachal Pradesh.
the developed countries, Uttar Pradesh presents a Reasons of Decline
very different picture with high proportions in the
• The health factor that affects women differently from
younger age groups and relatively low proportions
men is childbearing.
among the aged.
• Improvement in maternal mortality rate
• India as a whole is somewhere in the middle, because
it includes states like Uttar Pradesh as well as states • Improved level of nutrition
that are more like Kerala. • General education and awareness
Declining Sex Ratio in India • Improvement in available medical and communication
• Historically, the sex ratio has been slightly in favour facilities
of females, that is, the number of females per 1000 Factors Leading to Decline
males has generally been somewhat higher than 1000. • Severe neglect of girl babies in infancy leads higher
However, India has had a declining sex-ratio for more death rates
than a century. • sex-specific abortions that prevent girl babies from
• From 972 females per 1000 males at the turn of the being born
twentieth century, the sex ratio has declined to 933 • female infanticide (or the killing of girl babies due to
at the turn of the twenty-first century. religious or cultural beliefs)
• According to Census of India 2011 sex ratio has • According to the Economic Survey for a recent year,
increased and now it is 943 females per 1000 males. Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi
• Age specific sex ratios began to be computed in 1961. are having high per capita income and the child sex
• As many as nine States and Union Territories have a ratio of these states is still low. So the problem of
child sex ratio of under 900 females per 1000 males. selective abortions is not due to poverty or ignorance
• Haryana is the worst state with an incredibly low child or lack of resources.
sex ratio of 793 (the only state below 800), followed • It is also possible (though this issue is still being
by Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Chandigarh, researched) that as economically prosperous families
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. decide to have fewer children - often only one or two
• Uttar Pradesh, Daman & Diu, Himachal Pradesh, now - they may also wish to choose the sex of their
Lakhshadweep and Madya Pradesh are all under 925, child.
while large states such as West Bengal, Assam, Policies to Improve Sex Ratio
Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka are • Laws banning practice of sex determination and
above the national average of 919 but below the imposing heav y f ines and imprisonment as
970-mark. punishment. Known as the Pre-natal Diagnostic
 Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Mass transit and mass communication are bridging
Act has been in force since 1996, and has been further the gap between the rural and urban areas.
strengthened in 2003. • The rapid growth in urbanisation shows that the town
• Recently, the Government of India has introduced the or city has been acting as a magnet for the rural
programme, 'Beti-Bachao, BetiPadhao'. It can prove population.
to be an important policy to increase the child sex • Those who cannot find work (or sufficient work) in the
ratio in the country. rural areas go to the city in search of work. This flow
Literacy of rural-tourban migration has also been accelerated
• Literacy as a prerequisite to education is an by the continuous decline of common property
instrument of empowerment resources like ponds, forests and grazing lands.
• Literacy levels have improved considerably after • These common resources enabled poor people to
independence, and almost two-thirds of our population survive in the villages although they owned little or no
is now literate. land.
• But improvements in the literacy rate have to struggle • For the socially oppressed groups like the Scheduled
to keep up with the rate of growth of the Indian Castes and Scheduled Tribes, this may offer some
population, which is still quite high. partial protection from the daily humiliation they may
suffer in the village where everyone knows their caste
• Literacy rates also vary by social group - historically
identity.
disadvantaged communities like the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes have lower rates of • The anonymity of the city also allows the poorer
literacy, and rates of female literacy within these sections of the socially dominant rural groups to
groups are even lower. engage in low status work that they would not be
able to do in the village.
• Regional variations are still very wide, with states like
Kerala approaching universal literacy, while states • There are now 5,161 towns and cities in India, where
like Bihar are lagging far behind. 286 million people live. However, is that more than
two-thirds of the urban population lives in 27 big cities
• The inequalities in the literacy rate are specially
with million-plus populations.
important because they tend to reproduce inequality
across generations. Population Policy in India
Rural-Urban Differences • India was the first country to explicitly announce a
population policy in 1952.
• According to Census of India 2011 still more people
are living in rural areas but the population of urban • The population policy took the concrete form of the
areas has increased. National Family Planning Programme.
• Now 68.8% population lives in rural areas while 31.2% • The broad objectives of this programme have remained
people live in urban areas. the same - to try to influence the rate and pattern of
population growth in socially desirable directions.
• Agriculture used to be by far the largest contributor
to the country, but today it only contributes about • The most important objective was to slow down the
one-sixth of the gross domestic product. rate of population growth through the promotion of
various birth control methods, improve public health
• Mass media and communication channels are now
standards, and increase public awareness about
bringing images of urban life styles and patterns of
population and health issues.
consumption into the rural areas.
• In 2017, Government of India came out with National
• Consequently, urban norms and standards are
Health Policy 2017 in which most of the socio-
becoming well known even in the remote villages,
demographic goals were incorporated with new
creating new desires and aspirations for consumption.
targets.
 Exercise
1. Which of the following factors are not associated 7. Assertion (A): Poverty causes by population growth.
with the nation-state? Reason (R): Unequal distribution of economic
(a) Public health management system resources causes poverty and starvation.
(b) Governance (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct
(c) Economic policies explanation of A.
(d) Authoritarian power (b) Both A and R are true and R is not the correct
2. 'Essay on population' is a work of which of the explanation of A.
following thinker? (c) A is true and R is false
(a) Thomas Robert Malthus (d) Both A and R are false
(b) C. Wright Mills 8. Which of the following is correct representation of
(c) Karl Marx theory of demographic transition?
(d) None of the above (a) Very high birth and death rate - technologically
3. Demography is important because of the following backward society - reduction in birth and death rate
reason - (b) Reduction in birth and death rate - technologically
(a) To update total births and deaths in a year backward society - very high birth and death rate
(b) To expand sphere of state activity (c) Technologically backward society - very high birth
and death rate - reduction in birth and death rate
(c) To count increased number of voters
(d) Technologically backward society - very high birth
(d) To provide governance in the country
and death rate
4. Assertion (A): Indian census gives demographic
9. Population explosion takes place due to which of
data which is largest such exercise in the world.
the following reason?
Reason (R): Demographic data is important for the
(a) Reduction in death rates at slow pace
planning and implementation of state policies.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct (b) Increase in birth rate quickly
explanation of A. (c) Both birth and death rates increases at massive
(b) Both A and R are true and R is not the correct scale
explanation of A. (d) Quick reduction in death rates due to improved
(c) A is true and R is false nutrition
(d) Both A and R are false 10. The difference between birth rate and death rate refers
to -
5. Which of the following are preventive checks to
control population? (a) Fertility rate
(a) Use of contraceptives (b) Rate of natural increase of population
(b) Enforcement of family planning (c) Total fertility rate
(c) High number of natural deaths (d) Replacement level
(d) Celibacy and postponing marriages 11. Replacement level of population in a country represents
6. Assertion (A): Malthus believes there were positive (a) Stabilized population
checks to control population. (b) Economic growth stabilizes
Reason (R): Positive checks inevitable as they were (c) Hampers economic growth
nature's way of dealing with the imbalance between
(d) High death rate among old age population
food supply and increasing population.
12. Japan and Eastern Europe are experiencing negative
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct
growth due to -
explanation of A.
(a) High fertility rate
(b) Both A and R are true and R is not the correct
explanation of A. (b) Low replacement level
(c) A is true and R is false (c) Stagnant technological advancement
(d) Both A and R are false (d) Fertility levels are below the replacement level
13. Which of the following demographic indicator is not (a) I and II (b) II and III
considered while calculating fertility rate? (c) I and III (d) I, II and III
(a) Differences across age-groups 17. Kerala's TFR is below the replacement level, what
(b) Number of live births per 1000 women in child- does it imply?
bearing age group
(a) Population is not stabilized
(c) Rough average of entire population
(b) Old population is greater in number than the
(d) Crude rate younger ones
14. Which of the following indicator is not correct (c) Population is going to decline in future
regarding maternal mortality rate?
(d) Population will increase
(a) High maternal mortali ty rate indicates
backwardness and poverty 18. Which of the following factors held responsible for
declining sex ratio in India?
(b) Number of women dies in child birth per 1000
live births I. Neglect of girl child in infancy
(c) Improved medical facilities help to fall down II. Sex-specific abortions
maternal mortality rate III. Female infanticide
(d) Awareness and prosperity lowers down maternal (a) I and II
mortality rate (b) I and III
15. Which of the statements is not correct regarding (c) II and III
sex ratio?
(d) I, II and III
(a) China and South Korea is having low sex ratio
19. Assertion (A): The lowest child sex ratios are found
(b) Decline in sex ratio in Asia is found due to son
in the most prosperous regions of India.
preference
Reason (R): The problem of selective abortions is
(c) There had been slightly more female than male
due to poverty or ignorance or lack of resources.
in many countries
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct
(d) All of the above
explanation of A.
16. Which of the following factors lead to fall in the family
size? (b) Both A and R are true and R is not the correct
explanation of A.
I. Increased level of education
(c) A is true and R is false
II. Awareness
(d) Both A and R are false
III. Decline in infant mortality rates

Read the given image and answer the questions 20, 21 and 22.
20. The middle of given pyramid is wider, what does it Changes in the age structure due to the demographic
imply? transition lower the 'dependency ratio', or the ratio of
(a) Increase in total population non-working age to working-age population, thus creating
the potential for generating growth. But this potential
(b) Fall in middle age population
can be converted into actual growth only if the rise in the
(c) Birth rate is slow working age group is accompanied by increasing levels
(d) Death rate is higher of education and employment.
21. If more and more people began to live, the top of 23. As demographic dividend of India is in favor, but the
pyramid will grow wider, what does it mean? potential of population need to be converted into
(a) High birth rate actualgrowth through which of the following ways?
(b) Low death rate (a) Improvement in medical facilities
(c) Rise in life expectancy (b) Education and employment
(d) Demographic transition (c) Urbanization
22. As shown in the figure, how middle age group (d) Establishment of more and more industries
population is considerable for the country? 24. Which of the following section of population is
(a) Better medical facilities considered as dependents?
(b) Better nutrition I. Women
(c) Increase in unemployment II. Children below 14 years of age
(d) Demographic dividend III. Elderly people above 64
Read the following passage and answer the (a) I only (b) II and II
questions 23, 24 and 25. (c) I and II (d) All of the above
The 'demographic dividend' results from an increase in 25. Changes in the age structure due to demographic
the proportion of workers relative to non-workers in the transition leads to -
population. In terms of age, the working population is (a) Lower dependency ratio
roughly that between 15 and 64 years of age. This
(b) Higher dependency ratio
working age group must support itself as well as those
outside this age group (i.e., children and elderly people) (c) Demographic dividend
who are unable to work and are therefore dependents. (d) Stabilizes population

Answer Keys

1. (d) 2. (a) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (d) 6. (a) 7. (b) 8. (c) 9. (d) 10. (b)

11. (a) 12. (d) 13. (a) 14. (b) 15. (b) 16. (d) 17. (c) 18. (d) 19. (c) 20. (a)

21. (c) 22. (d) 23. (b) 24. (b) 25. (a)