UNIT 2 DEMOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS

Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Demography: Concept, Nature and Scope
2.2.1 Concept of Demography
2.2.2 Nature and Scope of Demography
2.2.3 Relationship of Demography with other Disciplines
2.2.4 Institutionalisation of Demography: Terminological Changes
2.3 Population Studies: Concept and Scope
2.3.1 Concept of Population Studies
2.3.2 Relationship between Demography and Population Studies
2.3.3 Relationship between Population Studies and other Disciplines
2.4 Population Distribution
2.4.1 Distribution of Population by Size -At a Point of Time
2.4.2 Distribution of Population over the Period of Time and Space
2.5 Population Structure/Composition
2.5.1 Age Composition: Influencing Factors
2.5.2 Sex Composition
2.5.3 Age and Sex Structure: Population Pyramid and its Implications
2.6 Measures of Population Distribution and Population Change
2.6.1 Measures of Population Distribution/Composition
2.6.1.1 Population Density
2.6.1.2 Sex Ratio
2.6.1.3 Dependency Ratio
2.6.2 Measures of Population Change
2.6.2.1 Ratios
2.6.2.2 Rates
2.6.2.3 Proportions
2.6.2.4 Percents
2.7 Sources of Demographic Data: Systems and Methods
2.7.1 Systems
2.7.1.1 Registration of Vital Events: Vital Statistics
2.7.1 .& Civil Registration in India: Background and Problems
2.7.1.3 Sample Registration System in India
2.7.1.4 Dual Reporting System
2.7.2 Methods
2.7.2.1 Census Survey or Census Method
2.7.2.2 Sample Surveys
2.7.2.3 Population Registers
2.7.2.4 International Publications
2.8 Let Us Sum Up
2.9 Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions
2.10 References
45
Population and Development
Education: An Overview 2.0 INTROUUCTION
We have discusszd tbc concept and development of population education in
Unit-1. While studying Unit-1 you must have noticed that population education
encompasses demography as one of its components. Thus, in the context of
population and development education, study of demography assumes greater
significance all over the world. It is primarily because ever-growing population
in developing and under-developed couptries in particular and developed countries
-in general strains social, economic and political systems, amongst others, due to
concomitant dynamics within and across the nations. It is, therefore, essential
that you are introduced to'the demographrc concepts in Unit-2 so that your
understanding of further units of this Block would be easy, smooth, clear and
comprehensive.

2.1 OBJECTIVES
In this Unit, the focus of our discussion will be on the concept, nature and scope
of demography and population studies. We will also highlight the inter-relationship
between demography and population studies and also their relationship with
other disciplines. After going through this unit, it is expected that you should be
able to:
Define the concepts of demography and population studies;
Explain the meaning of different terms/concepts as are used in the study of
demography and in population studies;
Distinguish between demography and population studies; and
Discuss different aspects or components of demography.

2.2 DEMOGRAPHY: CONCEPT, NATURE AND

SCOPE
In this section, we will present you the concept, nature and scope of demography.
As a part of its nature and scope, we will also highlight the interrelationship of
demography with other disciplines.

2.2.1 Concept of Demography

Demography, in fact, originated when human beings started forming civilized
society. As the time passed, every society and nation realized the need and
necessity of maintaining proper records of human population for smooth running
of administration and for solving many social as well as economic problems
associated with growth of population. Different countries began registration of
vital events in different periods and for variety of reasons. Thus, demography
has assumed much more significance in modern times. Realizing the importance,
the churches started keeping records of bapticons, marriages and death of their
members in some countries from the beginning of 15th century. In fact, credit
goes to John Graunt (1620-74) for starting demographic studies during modem
times. He brought out his famous volume entitled, "Natural and Political
Observations upon the Bills of Mortality" (1 662) which made him the real founder
of demographic studies. In this volume he analysed and discussed the number
46
and causes of death of certain places and the need and necessity of such analysis, Demographic Concepts
the births, migrations, family growth and similar other problems of some places
in sonic details. He analysed the population which was capable of serving in the
army, amongst others. He suggested that the population should be studied on the
basis of sex, religion, age, occupation, status and state.

John Graunt (1662) .believed that fertility, mortality and migration were
interrelatedprocesses and that these were based on definite postulates. According
to him male birth rate was always greater than that of females, if in a given
society the number of both the sexes was the same. Then his another finding was
that mortality rate was higher in urban as compared to rural areas and also it was
higher, at the beginning of life, than at any after-stage. He also had knowledge of
sample survey, because where the records were not available, he compiled them
on the basis of such surveys. Credit also goes to him for the preparation of life
tables. While discussing the contribution of John Graunt, Peter. R. Cox said
(quoted in Hans Raj, 1986, pp.2-3): "Graunt's work covers so wide an area of
igterest that it may be said that a large part of demography was born all at once.
The developments that occurred subsequently were in the nature of
consolidations".

The word 'demography' comes from the Greek words, 'demos ' which means
population, and graphy ' which means to describe or draw (Luczkovich, See
http://www.grin.com/en/e-book/60766/demography). Though the term
'demography' had been casually used by many persons, it was first used in a
rational or scientific way in 1855 by Guillard, and since then the term has been
gaining currency.

The economists, geographers, social scientists and others have defined it in

different ways suiting to their convenience and viewpoints. According to Frank
Lorimer (1959): "In broad sense, demography includes both demographic analysis
and population studies. Demography studies both qualitative and quantitative
aspects of population."

Stenford (Quoted in Hansraj, 1986)views it as follows: "In its most formal sense,
demography is a very technical and highly mathematical study of the vital statistics
of human population (especially birth, death and migration) as well as of the
characteristics of population structure (including age, sex and marital status) as
they contribute to an understanding of population change." In the words of Irene
Tanker: "With improved data, new techniques and measurement of the
demographic transition that is occurring, demography has become science rather
than literature" (Hansraj, 1986). Demography is the statistical study of human
population. It can be a very general science that can be applied to any kind of
dynamic human population, that is, orit: that changes over time or space
(population dynamics). It encompasses the study of the size, structure and
distribution of these populations, and spatial andlor temporal changes in them in
response to birth, migration, aging and death. (http:Nen.wikipedia. orglwikil
Demography). These definitions raise the status of demography from studies to
a science of population.

2.2.2 Nature and Scope of Demography

From the above definitions of demography, it becomes amply clear that some
have made its scope very wide, whereas others have made it considerably narrow.
47
PopulationadDevelOPment Accordingly, there are broader, narrower and balanced views about its nature
Education: An Ovemew
and scope.

i) Broader view: According to this view, the scope of demography is wide and
it studies the causes of slow or rapid change in birth rate, death rate,
population growth, sex ratio, health conditions, etc. According to holders
of this view, in demography many economic problems such as those related
to employment and income conditions of the masses; labour conditions and
their living standard, information about production and consumption, saving
habits of the population belonging to all sections of the society, rate of growth
of population, working eficiency of the masses and the relationship of
economic development, population change and overall quality of life, could
be understood and analysed.
Demographic studies can be placed broadly underjour categories, namely,
a) Descriptive Demography, under which are studied census and
registration statistics,
b) Analytical Demography, which deals with analysis of the data collected,
and rates and ratios of population change,
c) Comparative demography, which covers study of different aspects of
population and their determinants at two different places and at two
different points of time, and
d) Historical Demography, under which time series, and study of rates
and ratios of population change are studied.
Reflecting on social problems, Hans Raj (1986, p. 11) believed that
demography helps in the study of many problems such as marital status,
composition of the family and growing trends about caste, religion,
education, etc. Geography can also be studied with the help of demography,
e.g. trends in urbanisation and problems of migration from villages to the
cities, etc, These thinkers also believe that demography is collective or
comprehensive, or interdisciplinary study of human life. It deals with
individual ancestries, hereditary nature of the population and collects
physical, social and vital facts. It registers facts, from birth to death including
family, marriage, divorce and sickness, human growth structure and strength.
It also studies, at some length, the diseases and their relation with human
body. In this sense it can be considered as population studies. UNO (Hans
Raj, op.cit) has said that under demography we study the determinants and
consequences of population change.

In this connection it may be pointed out that there is close relationship

between demography and population data. But, population data becomes
socially useful only when demographers draw their inferences from it. It
means when demographers study population, demography emerges itseIf
into population studies. In other words, population studies includes
demography.

ii) Narrower view: As against the broader view, there is also a narrower view
about the nature and scope of demography. This view, among others, is
represented by Phillip and Otis (1959, p.2). According to them the scope of
demography is not as wide as we have been made to believe by some thinkers.
48
 It is argued by them that demography deals with all subjects; but does it Demographic Concepts
mean that in the study of demography all subjects can be studied?
Urbanization, for example, is one subject of study under demography. It includes
transportation, communication,rehabilitation, banking, administrative system,
electrification, entertainment, etc. All these subjects, however, cannot be
included under demography and obviously cannot be studied with the help
of this subject. Therefore, scope of demography will have to be defined and
restricted.Any unnecessary widening will do more harm than good to it. If
we are studying urbanization under demography we can and should cover
the effects of births, death, migration, etc.; and if we go on covering
everything under demography, then whole study will become just
unmanageable. They believe that "Demography has got to be limited to one

iii) Balanced view: There is a third school of thought which claims to have
presented balanced view of the nature and scope of demography. According
to Warren, S. and Thompson (1953), under demography, we can study death,
birth and actual rates of growth of population, information about female
population, their education, health conditions, marital status, distribution
of population and their classification according to their occupations, their
socio-economic conditions, etc.

In fact, today it is accepted that demography is the study of human society and
has very little to do with individualistic human problems. While dealing with
groups it takes the help of figures and arithmetic.

2.2.3 Relationship of Demography with other Disciplines

To have more clarity about demography, let us look at the interrelationship of
demography with other disciplines.
Demography deals with composition, organization and distribution of population
in human society. It is concerned with different aspects of human life, e.g.
biological, geographical, social, economic, cultural and so on. Each of these
subjects focus on only particular aspect or selected aspects of human being or
human life. However, all subjects or disciplines gradually expanded their scope
to the extent possible and got closely liked with each other. Here, we look at how
demography is related with certain disciplines.
i) Sociology and Demography: Demography primarily studies and is
concerned with collecting data and information about biological, economic
and social problems. Sociology believes that man is a social animal.
Similarly, demography also accepts human being as a unit of a society and
a group in which a man is born, lives and dies. The group, however, continues.
The relation between the two subjects is that in actual life all problems
connected with population studies are also social problems. For instance,
demography covers birth (birth rates) which is closely linked with marriage,
and sociologists also study the institution of marriage with keen interest.
ii) Demography andAnthropology: Demography is concerned with population
figures of the whole world, whereas anthropology is concerned only with
the study of few sections of society. In anthropology we are concerned with
the development and growth of only few tribeslsections and not with the
whole data which a demographer will collect.
49
I
Po~ulationandDevelo~ment iii) Demography and Human Ecology: Population is an outcome of births,
Education: An Overview
and birth of human beings and their living is the main concern of human
ecology. In human ecology along with human births and environment,
relationship between them is also studied. It is well know fact that population
of an area is effected by the environments around it, and at the same time,
environment is also affected by the density and quality of populations. From
the ecological viewpoint, population can be seen in terms of the extent to
which people share in exploiting and developing the same environmental
resources.

iv) Demography and Geography: Importance of human geography has

increased more as compared to physical geography. In other words,
geographers have also started keenly studying population growth and
problems. According to Ackerman (quoted in Hans Raj, 1986,p.24) "Recent
geographers have taken the cultural features of the earth, analysed them
generically and in their space-relations and established covariant relations
of cultural features with each other and with the physical and biotic
environment. These distributional features are common both to demography
and geography".

Then another point of similarity that exists between demography and

geography is that the census is conducted in a geographical area. It is during
census that vie study regional imbalances and disparities and compare
regional growths. Today both the demographers and the geographers try to
analyse population so that area differentiations are brought to focus.
Geographers such as Dodge, Steigenga and Trewaftha have deeply studied
birth, death and migration rates of many areas. By these studies they have
tried to achieve, what usually demographers aim to achieve (Hans Raj, 1986,
p.24).

The geographers of today are keen to study ethnic distribution of population

- races and their distribution - in different parts of the country and the
world and also study health, race and sex problems. In geography, like in
demography and population studies, important problems such as those related
to urbanization and non-urbanization, etc are covered. The geographers are
showing more interest in population in economic dynamics, with which
demographers are also concerned very much.

v) Demography and Economics: Relationship between demography and

economics has considerably increased during 20th century and both the
subjects have come quite closer and nearer to each other. This perhaps, is
the reason that today demography is considered as a branch of economics.
Where there is more population, economic activities are bound to increase.
Population problems are directly linked and connected with education,
employment, transportation, rehabilitation, industrialization, per capita
income, etc.

Demography influences economics in different ways. Changes in population

influence labour force and the source of production. Depending upon the
changes in labour force the economists shall be in a position to find out
what amount of socially useful and productive labour is available in the
country and whether it is the labour-intensive or capital-intensivetechniques
50
 that suit nation's economy, and so on. Demographers will help economists Demographic Concepts

vi) Statistics and Demography: There is no social science subject which can
do without statistics. Demography is rather more dependent on statistics
than many other disciplines. Main aim of a statistics is to collect figures1
data and leave its interpretation to the social scientist. Hence, it is quite
often said that statistics is value-neutral. This equally applies to demography.
Main aim of demographertoo is to collect data about population. Demography
is, thus, closely linked or related to all other social science disciplines. In case
these subjects are not closely studied the results are bound to be misleading.

2.2.4 Institutionalisation of Demography: Terminological

Demographic studies received greater importance with increasing population

growth and associated problems. As a result, efforts at institutionalization of
demographic studies or population research began.

The Central Family Planning Board, set up in 1956, appointed a sub-committee

on Demographic Studies under the chairmanship of Dr. V. K. R. V. Rao. This
sub-committee recommended the establishment of four demographic research
centres in different parts of the country, where studies might be conducted in
fertility, mortality and associated factors. As a result, the Demographic Training
and Research Centre was established in Bombay in 1956; followed by the
Demographic Research Centres in Calcutta, Delhi and Trivandrum in 1957 and
one at Dharwar in 1960. In 1959, the Demographic Advisory Committee was
appointed by the Ministry of Health, mainly to co-ordinate research on population.
The 'Family Planning Communication Action Research Committee' was set up
in 1960 to coordinate and promote research in family planning communication
and motivation. The two committees were merged in 1967 to form the 1
'Demographic and Communication Action Research Committee' which became
defunct when its term expired on November 3, 1971. This committee was
reconstituted on December 6,1972 as the 'Committee on Socio-Economic Studies ,
on Family Planning' to cover the economic, sociological, educational,
psychological, communicational and demographic aspects of population growth
and family planning. Subsequently, Centres for Population Studies came into
existence. In addition to these, at present, there are fifteen Population Research
Centres (as they are now called) in different parts of the country and four more
centres have recently been sanctioned (Asha and Tara, 2006, p. 18).

The 1961 Census of India provided first ever wealth of data to students of
demography, and a large number of reports and monographs based on these data
were published later. The Sample Registration Schemeinitiated by the Registrar-
General of India in 1964-65; was a step forward in solving the problem of
obtaining reliable estimates of birth and death rates and rates of natural growth.
The progress made by this system in obtaining reliable estimates has been quite
promising. Subsequent censuses continued to provide rich and reliable data about
Indian population thereby facilitating more and more research studies related to

51
P o ~ u l a t i o n ~Development
~d What was formerly known as the Demographic Training and Research Centre,
Education: An Ovemew
Bombay has became the premier institute, after its renaming as International
Institutefor Population Sciences popularly called by its acronym, IIPS known
for training and research in population studies in India. This Institute has four
functions, namely, teaching, research, consultative services and documentation.
Establishment of Centres for Population Studies and from the change of
nomenclature of DTRC into IIPS indicates that the terms 'Population Studies'
and 'Population Sciences' are more broader and include in them demography as
well.

Now let us look at the relationship between demography and population studies
and between population studies and other disciplines.

2.3 POPULATION STUDIES: CONCEPT AND

SCOPE
The study of human population is popularly known by two terms: i) Demography,
and ii) Population studies. We have already discussed the concept of demography.
In this section, we will focus on population studies including its relationship
with other disciplines.

2.3.1 Concept of Population Studies

As mentioned in the preceding section, demography is derived from the Greek
words 'demos' which means population, and 'graphy' which means to describe
or to draw. It means, it describes population (situation).This concept has gradually
been broadened by the demographers by enlarging its scope; a study of population
(population studies) and later (i.e. currently) the science of population (population
science). As a result, these terms 'demography' and 'population studies' are often
used interchangeably by some and distinctly by others, thereby creating a
confusion. We deal with these terms among other terms and their distinction
from each other in detail in Unit-5. However, we will discuss in brief about the
relationship between demography and population studies below so that the
concept of population studies becomes very clear.

2.3.2 Relationship between Demography and Population

Studies
Though the terms, 'demography' and 'population studies' are often used
interchangeably, some scholars have tried to distinguish between 'demographic
analysis' and 'population studies'. It is considered that (Philip and Otis, 1959,
p.2): "demographic analysis is confinedto a study of the components of population
variation and change", whereas "population studies are concerned not only with
population variables but also with the relationships between population changes
and other variables - social, economic, political, biological, genetic, geographical
and the like" The term 'demography' may be used in a narrow sense, as
synonymous with 'demographic analysis' or 'formal demography', which is
primarily concerned with quantitative relations among demographic phenomena
in abstraction from their association with other phenomena. Demography may
also be conceived in a broad sense to include, in addition to the quantitative
study of population, the study of interrelationship between population and socio-
economic, cultural and other variables.
52
 Demographic Concepts
Some scholars do not approve of creating such an artificial distinction between
demography and population studies. Frank Lorimer (quoted in Asha and Tara,
2006, p.24) highlights, "a demographer limited to the mere formal treatment of
changes in fertility, mortality, and mobility would be in a position like that of a
'formal chemist' observing the compression of mercury with no information
about associated changes in temperature or the constitution of the liquid. 'Pure
demography' as a concept is like the skeleton of science and is therefore an
illusionyy.
Any meaningfill study of population, therefore, has to be i~fferdisciplinary.

With independence of countries in many parts of the world, there have been
raising aspirations and hopes for the removal of poverty, for rdising the standard
of living of the people, and for ensuring them a better quality of life. As result, a
new era of planning for development dawned in many countries, including India,
after their independence, and the terms such as 'economic planning', 'planning
for development', 'five-year plans', etc., came to be widely used which
encompassed all the demographic and other terms and concepts in them. This
has led to use of more broader term 'population studies' that subsumed
'demography' as well.

2.3.3 Relationship between Population Studies and other

The above discussion has provided the clarity about the distinction between
demography and population studies. Now, we will see the interrelationship
between population studies and other disciplines.

i) Population Studies and Biology= The study of fertility provides a good

illustration of the relationship-between population and biology. It is a
biologically determined fact that only females can give birth to children
and, that too, only during certain age span. Similarly,in the study of mortality,
it is known that the age and sex differentials are biologically determined.
Even the sex ratio among the new-born is biologically determined.
Population genetics have been an important area of specialisation. The
knowledge of reproduction, so necessary for the study of fertility, is gained
mainly from reproductive physiology, an area of biology. An effective
regulation of fertility through improvements in contraceptive techniques
has been the contribution of applied research workers in the field of
reproductive physiology. It is also well-known that advances in the medical
sciences and the adoption of widespread public health measures have been
responsible for declining mortality rates even in developing countries,
irrespective of the level of development in these countries.

ii) Population Studies, Mathematics and Statistics: Quantification is an

important element in population studies, as population data are available in
a discrete quantifiable form. The relationship of population studies with
mathematics, therefore, assumes great importance. The study of population
size, growth, structure and components is entirely done with the help of
mathematics. Population experts have attempted to build various
mathematical models regarding population growth. Mathematics is, thus,
an important tool in the study and understanding of population phenomena.

Population studies also depend on statistics, as a tool. It may be recalled that

the development of statistics fostered the development of demography in
53
Population and Development the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. The theory of probability has
Education: An Overview
been extremely useful for an analysis of mortality. The actuarial science
was useful in the preparation of life tables with a high degree of precision
and sophistication mainly because of its use of the probability theory.

iii) Populatiotion Studies and Social and BehaviouralSciences: Till recently,

population studies was generally regarded as a branch of sociology or
economics or even geography. Most of the variables and the theories which
explain demographicphenomena originated in the social sciences. The theory
of demographic transition is based on an understanding of such other
disciplines as economics, sociology, political science, psychology,
anthropology and geography. Many of the fertility theories are based on
biology, sociology and economics. The changes in the birth rate cannot be
explained as independent phenomena. Rather, their explanations have to be
sought in the changing economic, social, cultural, psychological and political
situations in which they occur. Similarly, the levels and trends in mortality
are related to socio-economic factors. In recent times, another dimension
has been added to the study of population; demographic questions such as
those related to fertility regulation are examined with reference to humanistic
issues like human rights and the status of women.

Though it is possible to speak broadly of the inter-relation between population

studies and the social and the behavioural sciences considered together, it
would be more useful if we consider the social and behavioural sciences
separately with population studies to understand their specific inter-
relationships.

iv) Population Shrdies and Socidogy: Kingsley Davis (1959, p.3 14)has referred
to the following areas of study which require a combination of demographic
and sociological skills: 1) Fertility in connection with attitudes and social
institutions; 2) Population changes in relation to social and economic change;
3) The labour force with respect to population structure and social
organisation; and 4) The family with regard to demographic behaviour.
International and internal migration are two other areas of study mentioned
by Davis, where a knowledge of sociology and demography need to be
combined. Even the study of mortality, age and sex differentials, though
biologically determined, may have sociological bases, and, therefore, need
to be recognised as such (Asha and Tara, 2006, p.26).

v) Population Studies, Psychology and Social Psychology: Several questions

connected with family planning and fertility regulation can be answered
only when the reproductive behaviour of individuals is understood in the
context of the social standards and cultural norms which influence and govern
such behaviour. For instance, some questions which are often asked are:
What is the family size norm in a community? How is it determined? Is it
possible to modify this norm by stimulating planned change? Even in the
field of mortality, utilization patterns of healthcare services can be-understood
only when individual behaviour is explored and the relevant social norms
are studied. Movements of people from rural to urban areas can also be
studied only by understanding the motivation behind such migrations.
 Demographic Concepts
vi) Population Studies and Economics: The study of population is an important
area of investigation in the field of economics, specially since problems of
economic development and development planning have come to the forefront
in most developing countries, In order to gain a better understanding of the
relationshipbetween population trends and economic growth the following
topics have emerged over the years and continue to occupy an important
place, both in economics and population studies: a) population and
development; b) manpower studies; c) the economies of fertility; and d)
coniprehensive economic-demographic models.

vii) Population Studies and Geography: Students of population studies are

usually interested in the geographical distribution of the population and its "
movements between rural and urban areas. Those geographers who are
interested in geography nat only as an academic discipline but also as a
geographic point of view to understand the world, point out that it is useful
to know how the various issues facing the world, for instance, rapid
population growth, urbanization, race-relations, etc. assume different forms
in different regions or contents (Asha and Tara, 2006, p.23).

viii)Population Studies and Law: The inter-relationship between population

and law becomes clear when an attempt is made to study what the present
and the future laws of any country can do to solve the problem of over-
population. Chandrasekhar(1976, p.5 1)has pointed out that population laws
may be defined as "that body of law which relates directly or indirectly to
the three basic demographic variables of fertility mortality and migration
and their various components, which in turn affect the more general problems
of the size, growth and distribution of the population". Population laws,
could, therefore, relate to "public health and sanitation; food preparation,
distribution and sale; drugs and pharmaceuticals; clinics, hospitals and
medical personnel; migration, marriage, fertility, child care and all aspects
of education and the role and status of women. The Indian Medical
Termination of Pregnancy Act oE 1972, which has made induced abortion
fairly easy, is the illustration of how the law of the land can affect an important
demographic variable, that is, fertility".
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions".
1) Explain the interrelationshipbetween demography and economics.
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Population and Development
Education: An Overview 2.4 POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
In any demographic or population study the concern is not only about finding
out how many people live in a particular area at a given point of time but also
about whether the number is larger than what it was and what it is likely to be in
the future, what will be its effect, and so on. Such facts are needed for industrialists,
particularly those concerned with providing social utility services like education,
medical aid, as well as for legislators and social scientists. It is with the help of
these figures that the government and planners can develop their .future plans,
strategies and expansion activities. It is again after getting this actual and estimated
data that production for consumer goods can be increased and arrangement for
providing basic facilities to the society can accordingly be made. A demographer
also likes to find out the extent of changes, but he is also required to find out the
causes of such changes -the changes in the births, deaths, migration; poor medical
and other facilities; lack of awareness among the masses about their health, etc.
This is all a complex process involving systematic application of different tools
and techniques.

Nevertheless, in this sub-section, we will just begin to understand population

distribution. Population distribution is always discussed with reference to the
size of population at particular point of time, over a period of time and over
specific geographical space. Of course, other details related to distribution by
sex, age, sex and age, and so on are also studied.

2.4.1 Distribution of Population by Size -At a Point of Time

The size of population gives us an idea of how many people live in a given place
at a given point of time. But, the size can be accurately found out by clearly
defining the terms 'place', 'person' and 'time'. For instance, see population
distribution in different states in 201 1 as given in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1: List of States and Union Territories by Total Population (Size)
and Rank - 2011

~ Rank Statelunion Territory Population % of Total

Population
I
1 Uttar Pradesh 199,581,520 16.49%

2 Maharashtra 112,372,972 9.29%

3 Bihar 103,804,637 8.58%

4 West Bengal 91,347,736 7.55%

5 Andhra Pradesh 84,665,533 7.00%

6 Madhya Pradesh 72,597,565 6.00%

7 Tamil Nadu 72,138,958 5.96%

8 Rajasthan 68,621,012 5.67%
9 Karnataka 61,130,704 5.05%
10 Gujarat 60,383,628 4.99%
56
 Demographic Concepts
11 Orissa 41,947,358 3.47%

12 Kerala 33,387,677 2.76%

13 Jharkhand 32,966,238 2.72%

14 Assam 31,169,272 2.58%

15 Punjab 27,704,236 2.29%

16 Haryana 25,353,08 1 2.09%

17 Chhattisgarh 25,540,196 2.11%

18 Jamrnu and Kashmir 12,548,926 1.04%

19 Uttarakhand 10,116,752 0.84%

20 Himachal Pradesh 6,856,509 0.57%

21 Tripura 3,671,032 0.30%

22 Meghalaya 2,964,007 0.24%

23 Manipur" 2,72 1,756 0.22%

24 Nagaland 1,980,602 0.16%

25 Goa 1,457,723 0.12%

'26 Arunachal Pradesh 1,382,611 0.11%
27 Mizoram 1,091,014 0.09%
28 Sikkim 607,688 0.05%

UT1 Delhi 16,753,235 1.38%

UT2 Puducherry 1,244,464 0.10%
UT3 Chandigarh 1,054,686 0.09%
UT4 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 379,944 0.03%
UT5 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 342,853 0.03%

UT6 Daman and Diu 242,9 11 0.02%

UT7 Lakshadweep 64,429 0.0 1%
Total India 1,210,193,422 100.00%

Source: http://en.wikipedia.orglwiki~Demographics~of~India

The data in Table 2.1 is self-explanatory regarding the size and rank and does
not require any elaborate discussion - we can easily say which is the biggest
State/UT in terms of its population size. To read more, by taking the total
population of the States with ranks 1-7, we can notice that they together account
for more than 60% of the total population of the county in 20 11.

57
PopulationandDevelo~ment Similarly, we can say which particular city is bigger or smaller in terms of its
Education: An Overview
population compared to any other city. For example, see the Table 2.2.

Table 2.2: Largest Cities in India in 2001

Rank Name of the City
1 Mumbai Maharashtra
2 Delhi Delhi
3 Bengaluru Karnataka
4 Kolkata
5 Chennai Tamilnadu
6 Lucknow Uttar Pradesh
7 Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh
8 Ahrnedabad
9 Pune Maharashtra
10 Kanpur Uttar Pradesh
11 Swat

13 Nagpur Maharashtra
14 Patna Bihar
15 Indore Madhya Pradesh
16 Bhopal Madhya Pradesh
17 Thane Maharashtra
18 Ludhiana
19 Agra Uttar Pradesh
20 Pimpri Maharashtra
Source: en.wikipedia.orglwiki/demographics~offIndia.

The study of demography does not confine to only such data based on just one
aspect, as it is not much useful.

2.4.2 Distribution of Population over the Period of Time and

Space
Data on size of population at particular point of time provides us very little
information. So, to have somewhat better understanding of population we can
consider its distribution over a period of time i.e. at different points of time. For
example, see the distribution of population given in Table 2.3 below.

58
 Table 2.3: Population Growth in India - 1901-2011 Denmgraphic Concepts

Census Population Decadal growth Average annual Progressive

Year exponential growth rate
growth rate over 1901
(per cent) (per cent)
Absolute Per
cent
1 2 3 4 5 6
1901 238,396,327 - - - -

1911 252,093,390 13,697,063 5.75 0.56 5.75

1921 251,321,213 -772,177 -0.31 - 0.03 5.42
1931 278,977,238 27,656,025 11.OO 1.04 17.02

1941 3 18,660,580 39,683,342 14.22 1.33 33.67

1951 361,088,090 42,427,510 13.31 1.25 5 1.47
1961 439,234,771 78,146,68 1 2 1.64 1.96 84.25
1971 548,159,652 108,924,881 24.80 2.20 129.94
1981 683,329,097 135,169,445 24.66 2.22 186.64
1991 846,387,888 163,058,791 23.86 2.14 255.03

2001 1,027,015,247 180,627,359 21.34 1.93 - 330.80

2011 1,210,193,422 183,178,175 17.8% 1.78 407.64

1) In working out 'Decadal Growth and Percentage Decadal Growth' for India 1941-
5 1 and 1951-61 the population of Tuensang district for 1951 (7,025) census and
the population of Tuensang (83,501) and Mon (5,774) districts for 1961 Census of
Nagaland state have not been taken into account as the areas were not covered for
the first time in 1951 and the same are not comparable.
2) The 1981 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions pr&ailing in
Assam. Hence, the population figures for 1981 ofAssam have been worked out by
'interpolation7.
3) The 1991 Census could not be held owing to disturbed conditions prevailing in
Jarnmu and Kashrnir. Hence, the population figures for 1991 Census for Jarnmu
and Kashrnir have been worked out by 'interpolation7.
4) It may be furthernoted that the figures have been adjusted for the territorial changes
which occurred because of the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two
countries, India and Pakistan.
5) For 201 1, the figure under column (2) is obtained from http://en.wikipedia. org/
wiki~Demographics~of~India, and accordingly the rest of the figures are calculated.

Table 2.3 presents the growth of India's population as per the censuses from
1901 to 20 11. This gives us more information to study the population at different
59
Po~*ationmdDevelo~ment points of time. For instance, we get more information from it and can infer the
Education: An Overview
following points.

i) The course of population growth up to 1931 was undulating. The decades of

marked increases alternated with decades of small increases, while during
1911- 1921 a negative growth was experienced.

ii) The absolute number of people added to the population during each decade
has been on the increase from 1921 onwards. The decennial rate of growth
has also increased from 1921 up to 201 1, although there were fluctuations
in the positive growth rate. From 1951 onwards, India's population has been
growing at a phenomenal rate. While during 1941- 195 1, the average
decennial growth rate was 13.3 1 per cent, during 1951-196 1 it increased to
2 1.6 per cent, and during 1961-197 1, it was 24.8 per cent. From 1901 to
201 1, there has been an increase of 407.64 per cent in the population. India's
population has more than doubled in a period of 50 years, that is, from 1521
to 1971.

iii) The year 1521 is designated as "the great divide" in the sense that it is the
turning point which marks the beginning of not only regular/continuous
growth but also the beginning of a rapid and massive population growth in
India.

iv) The decennial population growth rate during 1961-71 was 24.80 per cent,
during 1971-81 it was 24.66 per cent, during 1981-91 it was 23.85 per cent,
during 1991-200 1 it was 21.34 per cent and during 2001-201 1 it was 17.8
. per cent. Thus, it can be observed that while the population size has been
growing, the rate of population growth has decreased from 1981 onwards.

Nevertheless, Table 2.3 does not give us other relevant information such as the
nature of changes that took place during these periods which resulted in the
change of the size of the population over time. If we know the reasons underlying
the changes in the population that will provide us more meaningful information
to understand these changes. It requires additional efforts to enlarge the scope of
coverage beyond simply the distribution of population over time and space. For
instance, for our better understanding of the above data, we can look at the
following additional information.

During 1901-191 1, the seasonal conditions were much more favourable,

according to the census reports, which refer to the agricultural conditions as
being "normal" or even "prosperous." No indication of any famine being an
important cause of high mortality is found in these reports. It appears,
therefore, that the days when people died in large numbers due to local crop
failures were over. Improved transportation and communication because of
the building of roads and railways had reduced the isolation of certain areas.
These changed conditions were reflected in population growth, and the rate
of this growth rose to 5.7 per cent during the "normal" decade of 1901-
1511.
In the decade 19 11- 1921, there is a phenomenal decrease in population of
India. All the fluctuations in the population growth in the preceding periods
pale into insignificance when the situation during 1911- 1921 is considered.
This decade was extraordinary in many ways. The natural checks which are
60
 Demographic Concepts
known to curb the growth of population were found to operate during this
period. Though agricultural conditions were on the whole favourable, an
epidemic of plague took a toll of nearly three million lives. The First World
War took place during this decade and, most important, after the War, the
entire country was swept by distinct waves of a worldwide pandemic of
influenza. This epidemic may be considered the most severe and the most
deadly of its kind for, even according to the conservative estimates of official
reports, nearly 12 to 13 million people died of this disease during the short
span of three or four months. In this disastrous year of 1918, the official
death rate rose to 63 per thousand population, whereas it was 33 in 1917
and 36 in 1919. J. T. Marten reported in the Census Report of 1921 that
nual areas were severely affected by this epidemic. Mortality was particularly
high among adults between the ages of 20 and 40. Women were the worst
affected. "In the worst period, whole villages were absolutely laid desolate
by the disease. There was sometimes no means of disposing of the dead;
crops were left unharvested. To add to the distress, the disease came at a
period of widespread crop failure and reached its climax in November, when
the cold weather set in. And, as the price of cloth happened at the time to be
the highest, many were unable to provide themselves with the warm clothing
that was essential in the case of illness that so readily attacked the lungs. All
these are mentioned here to highlight the usefulness of the census surveys.

Distribution of population over geographical area and time: If our interest is

to know the size of other countries in terms of their population at a particular
point of time, then we will look for relevant information accordingly. For example,
see Table 2.4 in this regard.
Table 2.4: Countries with a Population of Over 100 Million - 1998 and 2050
(Population in Millions, Medium Variant)
Countries with a Population of Over 100 Million
In 1998 By 2050
1. China 1256 1. India 1529 11. Mexico 147
2. India 982 2. China 1478 12. Philipines 131 -
127
-
4. Indonesia 206 4. Pakistan 346 14. Russian Fed. 122

9. Bangladesh 125 9. Ethiopia 170

10. Nigeria 106 10. Democratic 160
Republic of
the Congo
Source: United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 1998 Revzsion
(See http:~~~~w.aph.gov.au/library/pubsirnl1999-2000/2000m09. htm)
61
S1 Indialstatel Population, 2001 Urban Decennial Growth
No Union Popula- Rate of Population
Territory tion as (Per cent)
Percen- 1991-2001
tage of
Total
Total Rural Urban Popula- Total Rural Urban
tion
2001
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
India 1,028,610,328 712,490,639 286,119,689 27.82 21.54 17.90 31.20
1. Andhra 76,210,007 55,401,067 20,808,940 27.30 14.59 13.60 14.60
Pradesh
2. Arunachal 1,097,968 870,087 227,881 20.75 27.00 15.20 10.30
Pradesh
3. Assam 26,655,528 23,216,288 3,439,240 12.90 18.92 16.70 36.20
4. Bihar 82,998,509 74,3 16,709 8,681,800 10.46 28.62 28.30 29.30
5. Chhattisgarh 20,833,803 16,648,056 4,185,747 20.09 18.27 NA NA
6. Goa 1,347,668 677,091 670,577 49.76 15.21 -2.20 39.40
7. Gujarat 50,671,017 3 1,740,767 18,930,250 37.36 22.66 17.10 32.70
8. Haryana 21,144,564 15,029,260 6,115,304 28.92 28.43 20.60 50.80
9. Himachal 6,077,900 5,482,3 19 595,581 9.80 17.54 16.10 32.40
Pradesh
10. Jammu & 10,143,700 7,627,062 2,516,638 24.81 29.43 25.60 40.70
Kashmir
11. Jharkhand 26,945,829 20,952,088 5,993,741 22.24 23.36 NA NA
12. Kamataka 52,850,562 34,889,033 17,961,529 33.99 17.51 12.10 28.80
13. Kerala 3 1,841,374 23,574,449 8,266,925 25.96 9.43 10.10 7.60
 Demographic Concepts
18. Mizoram 888,573 447,567 441,006 49.63 28.82 21.00 38.70
19. Nagaland 1,990,036 1,647,249 342,787 17.23 64.53 63.40 69.40
20. Onssa 36,804,660 31,287,422 5,517,238 14.99 16.25 13.80 29.80
21. Punjab 24,358,999 16,096,488 8,262,511 33.92 20.10 12.30 37.60
22. Rajasthan 56,507,188 43,292,813 13,214,375 23.39 28.41 27.50 31.20
23. Sikkirn 540,851 480,98 1 59,870 11.07 33.06 30.10 62.10 I \

24. Tamil Nadu 62,405,679 34,921,681 27,483,998 44.04 11.72 -5.20 42.80
25. Tnpura 3,199,203 2,653,453 545,750 17.06 16.03 13.40 28.80
26. Uttar Pradesh 166,197,921 131,658,339 34,539,582 20.78 25.85 24.10 32.90
27. Uttarakhand 8,489,349 6,310,275 2,179,074 25.67 20.41 NA NA
28. WestBengal 80,176,197 57,748,946 22,427,251 27.97 17.77 16.90 20.20
29. A.&N. Islands 356,152 . 239,954 116,198 32.63 26.90 16.60 26.90
30. Chandigarh 900,635 92,120 808,515 89.77 40.28 39.20 40.5b
3 1. D&N Haveli 220,490 170,027 50,463 22.89 59.22 34.10 330.30
32. Daman & Diu 158,204 100,856 57,348 36.25 55.73 86.40 20.60
33. Delhi 13,850,507 944,727 12,905,780 93.18 47.02 1.50 51.30
34. Lakshadweep 60,650 33,683 26,967 44.46 17.30 48.90 -7.40
35. Puducheny 974,345 325,726 648,619 66.57 20.62 12.00 25.40

NA= Not available

Source: Census of lndia 2001. Registrar General lndia

But, studying the distribution of population on a limited geographical area and

its sub-division becomes easier. For instance, the study of spatial distribution of
population in a particular country/geographical area such as rural, urban, farm,
non-farm, etc as well as the ratios of these groups of people including the causes
for such distribution in a country or a state is easier. For-example,see the urban-
rural distribution of population in India.
Before 1961, the definition of 'urban' was not uniformly followed in all the
States of India and there was considerable scope for the use of discretionary
powers on the part of the State Census Superintendents. Apart from the usual
test of a settlement having more than 5000 population, the classification of a
place into urban a rural was based on a subjective assessment by the Census
Superintendents of the presence of 'urban characteristics'.
A more precise national definition of 'urban' was introduced for the first time by
the Census Commissioner in 1961.According to this definition, the 'urban places'
were those settlements which satisfiedthe following criteria: (a) All places within
a Municipal AredCorporation, Cantonment or notified area committee; (b)
Selected places with: (i) a population of 5,000, (ii) three-fourths of the working
population outside agriculture, and (iii) density of not less than 1,000 persons
per sq mile. The definition adopted for an urban area for the 1971 census followed
the 1961 pattern. However, the criterion (b)(ii) was changed fiom "three fourths
of the working population"t0 "three fourths of the male working population"
being non-agricultural.
63-
POpulPtlonand Development The study of urban-rural composition of a country is important for a variety of
Education: An Overview
reasons. The developed countries of today had undergone changes as was observed
in the demographictransition where we looked at the birth and death rates. Similar
change could also be observed in respect to the urban-rural composition of other
countries. One finds that the proportion of urban population in the developed
countries increased substantially with economic development.

Thus, study of different demographic characteristics of distribution will be useful

in different ways. But, if you are interested to engage yourself in a more detailed
population study, you need to know about other important aspects of population
such as structure or composition of population.

2.5 POPULATION STRUCTUREICOMPOSITION

Population structure or composition covers all the measurable characteristics of
given population. The universal characteristics of any population in any
geographical area at any point of time or at different points of time are: age, sex,
and age and sex taken together. These characteristic components determine the
structure of a given population. It is also universally accepted that the composition
of a given population varies with changes in its fertility, mortality, and net
migration, These demographic processes effecuaffect the basic characteristics
of the population, viz. age and sex, and thus change the composition or structure
of population.

2.5.1 Age Composition: Influencing Factors

i) Significance of age structure: There is a functional relationship between
age composition of population of a country and other components of
population and changes in them. Schedules of nuptiality, fertility, mortality
and migration shape the distribution of population by age and are in turn
affected by it. Age distribution can be used for inferring the vital rates. Age
distribution of a country also has a socio-economic significance. The level
of consumption, income, social services needed, participation in productive
work, taking part in reproduction process and many other aspects of life is
effected by age.
The population pyramid of India is broad-based and conforms to a population
of an underdeveloped country; as opposed to this, the age pyramid of a
developed country has a narrow base where small number of children are
born but they live longer. Some important features of Indian population
distribution based on age and their implications are as follows.
Under-enumeration of children at young ages, especially in the age group
0-4 has been a recognized feature of the Indian census. Gradually, in
recent Censuses this feature has changed. Now, partly due to an
improvement in the enumeration of younger population and increase in
fertility and decrease in mortality there has been a rise in proportion of
population below age 15. It has greater social, economic and
demographic relevance. Such a young population necessitates more
allocation of funds to provide for its health, medical, educational and
consumption needs. Such an age-structure dominated by young
population also favours a very rapid population increase in coming years.
64
 Dependency ratio, the ratio of non-workers to workers, is high in which Demographic Concepts
the contribution of children under 15 years of age is overwhelming and
implies less per capita produce, if not per worker produce directly. It
also affect the productivity of labour, as it reduces the remainder of
national income after deducting the high investment needed for satisfying
immediate needs of the young population; otherwise that can be
mobilized for capital formation.

Large base of the population means persisting high natural increase, at

least in absolute numbers.
ii) Nature of age data: The United Nations has defined age as "the estimated
or calculated interval of time between the date of birth and the date of census,
expressed in completed solar years. It has also recommended that information
on age should be collected in the census by asking the date of birth of the
individual (day, month and year) or by asking a direct question to obtain
information on the age at the last birthday, or by asking both these questions
together. Though the question on the date of birth obviously yields more
accurate information of age, it is not always possible to obtain date of birth
from a population in which the majority are either illiterate or semi-literate
and are ignorant about their own age. In such a situation, information on
age is collected by asking about "the years completed on the last birthday."
The Indian age data, therefore, show concentration of population at a certain
age, for Indians prefer to report their age in numbers ending with 0 or 5.
Errors in age reporting also creep in because of carelessness in reckoning
age, misunderstanding of the question or deliberate misstatement.
lii) Factors determining the age structure ofpopulations: Fertility, mortality
and migration are the main causes of the growth rate of any population and
are also responsible for determining its age structure. Growth rate is
mathematically determined by the levels of fertility, mortality and migration.
However, the world situation with regard to national population policies,
commitments, international power structure, and world-wide economic
trends is changing fast; and this has implications for the growth of population
from national as well as global point of view.
The age structures of various populations of the World: The age
structures of different populations are usually compared in terms of
three broad age groups - working age (15-64), children below the
working age (i.e. below 15) and persons above the working age (i.e.
above 64). Accordingly, the persons are identified with particular group.
As the developed countries have a much lower proportion of population
consisting of dependent children, their over-all dependency ratios are
also of smaller values than those in developing countries.
iv) Analysis of the age structure: Age data are usually available in the form of
single years, that is, the number of persons in the population of age 13, 14,
15, etc. For demographic analysis, however, age data are seldom used in
discrete form. It is customary to classify them in five-year age-groups such
as 0-4,5-9, 10-14, 15-19,20-24 and so on. The age data, thus, classified in
mutually exclusive age groups are used for an analysis of the age structure
of any population, and are also useful for a wide variety of analytical and
comparative purposes. 65
Population and Development The age-structure of any population is .most,commonlystudied with the help of
Education: An Overview
a simple mathematical measures like the per cent distribution and an equally

the age structure are the average age (mean, median, mode), and a few other
indices based on the distributionof persons in various age-groups.
The simplest measure is the percentage distribution of the population based on
the absolute numbers in various five-year age-groups. This measure is helpful in
forming an idea about the age structure of any population, and is used for
describing it. It is also used to compare the age structures of two ormore -
populations at a point of time or to compare the age structure of the same
population at different points of time. The age-sex histograms, knownas the
age-sex pyramids, which we will discuss i n sub-section 2.5.3, may be used
precisely for the same purposes.
Table 2.6 is, just an illustration of, the age-group-wise percentage distribution of
the population of India as in 1991, which is presented in five-year age-groups
both in terms of absolute numbers and percentages.

66
 Demographic Concepts
Table 2.7: Distribution of the Population of India according to Broad
Age-groups - 1901-1991

* Percentages based on adjusted figures.

Sources:
1) UnitedNations. 1956.The Aging of the Populations and its Economic and Social Implications,
Population Studies. No.26, p.114.
2) Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Census ofIndia 1961, India Paper
No.2, Age Tables, Part 11, p.35.
3) Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Census of India 1971, Series I -
India, Miscellaneous Studies, Paper-2 of 1974, Age and Life Tables (one per cent sample),

4) Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Census of India 1991. India (Excluding
Jammu and Kashmir).

Table 2.8 presenting the age distribution of the population of India (1991) and of
the United States (1995) in broad age-groups illustrates how the age distribution
of two countries may be compared with the help of percentage distribution.

Table 2.8: Comparison of Age Group-wise Percentage Distribution of

Population of India (1991) and the United States of America
(1995)
Age Group India (1991) United States (1995)
0-4 12.21 7.46
.

15-24 18.30 13.68

25-34 15.22 15.55
35-44 11.32 16.15
45-54 8.02 11.73
55-64 5.27 8.04
65+ 4.05 12.88
Age not stated 0.57 -
100.00 100.00

Source: 1) Registrar General and Census Commissionerof India. Census ofIndia, 1991, India,
(Excluding Jammu and Kashmir). New Delhi.
2) United Nations. 1997. Demographic Year Book 1995. New York, pp. 192-193.
67
POpu'ationandDeve'Opment It is evident from Table 2.8 that the age distribution of the Indian population
Education: An Overview
differs a great deal from that of the American population. The percentage of
Indians in the age group 0-4 is a little less than twice that of the Americans. On
the other hand, the percentage of Americans above age 65 is more than three
times that of Indians. From this information, it is clear that there is high promotion
of children in the Indian population compared to the US population, and high
proportion of elderly people in the American population compared to that of
India.

Table 2.9: Percentage Distribution of Population in Broad age-groups for

some Developing and Developed Countries
Country Year 0-14 15-64 65+ Age not All ages
Stated
India 1991 37.25 58.13 4.05 0.56 100.00
Kenya 1989 47.84 48.73 3.43 - 100.00
Pakistan 1995 41.33 54.92 3.75 - 100.00
Bangladesh 1990 43.78 46.26 9.46 - 100.00
Sri Lanka 1994 35.20 60.48 4.32 - 100.00
China 1990 27.69 66.73 5.58 - 100.00
Japan 1994 16.33 69.60 14.07 - 100.00
United Kingdom 1994 19.49 64.76 15.75 - 100.00
United States 1995 21.97 65.15 12.88 - 100.00
Thailand 1994 29.99 65.74 4.27 - 100.00'

Sources: 1) United Natlons. 1997. Demographzc Year Book 1995 New York, pp. 180-212.
2) Population Reference Bureau. 1997. World Population Data Sheet 1997
Washington D.C.: United Nat~ons.

2.5.2 Sex Composition

Like age composition, sex composition also has its significance in the study of
population structure.

Sex Structure: Sex is an easily identifiable characteristic and its dichotomous

nature presents few problems for classification. The data on sex are also easily
obtained. For the study of the sex-structure of any population, the following two
measures are generally adopted: 1) the percentage of males in the population or
masculinity proportion, and 2) the sex ratio. Of these two measures, the latter is
more frequently used in the study of population.

68
 Demographic Concepts
2.5.3 Age and Sex Structure: Population Pyramid and its

Study of population structure by age and sex, taken together, gives us better
understanding of population structure than its study by taking age or sex only.

i) Sex and Age Structure: Sex and age are the basic characteristics or the
biological attributes of any population which affect not only its demographic
structure but also its social, economic and political structure. They influence
marriages, birth and death rates, internal and international migration,
population composition, manpower, gross national product, planning
regarding housing, educational and medical services, and so on.

For better understanding of population structure by age and sex we can look at
Table 2.10.

Table 2.10: Percentage Distribution of Population of India by Age and Sex:

1951-2001

Age Groups (in years)

Year 0-14 15-49 50+
Male Female Male Female male Female
1951 38.2 38.6 49.7 49.1 12.1 12.2
1961 40.9 41.1 47.2 47.1 11.8 11.7
1971 41.7 42.2 45.8 46.0 12.3 11.8
1981 -
39.6 39.8 47.7 47.7 12.7 12.5
1991 36.5 35.9 5 1.2 51.1 12.4 13.0
200 1 35.6 35.1 50.7 50.6 13.4 14.0
Source: Census, Registrar General, India
Note: Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding off.
Population and Development Population data are invariably classified by sex and age and then made
Education: An Oveniew
available to data users. All data on fertility, mortality, migration, marital
status, and economic characteristics are first presented separately for males
and females and are cross-classified according to age. Sex and age are very
important because they are the visible, indisputable, definite and convenient
indicators of social status.

ii) Population pyramid and its implications: Let us understand the impact of
population structure in the form of population pyramid. Population pyramid
is a widely used graphical device to show the age-sex composition of a
population. It consists of a number of horizontal bars representing successive
age-groups in ascending order, from the lowestage at bottom to the highest
age at top. The length of a bar for any age-group represents the number or
percentage of males or females in that age-group, according to a scale along
the horizontal axis.
The pyramid can be made either way, in age-groups of width of 5 or 10
years or of single year. In any case the highest bar refers to an open age
interval (say 80 years and above). The number of males and females can
directly be traced on the graph or represented in percentage form, without
producing any change in the geometrical shape of the pyramid. It is notable
that the percentage in sex-age-group is calculated as in the total population
and not in the population of that sex. Depending on the trends of fertility,
mortality and migration, pyramid can take various shapes. The relative length
of the bar at the bottom indicates whether the recent fertility has been high
or low. Protuberances and indentations in the shape of pyramid reveal that
corresponding periods of either high fertility, immigration or low mortality,
or low fertility, emigration or high mortality. If the historical trend does not
confirm the shape, it can, then, be explained by errors in reporting of age-
data. Pyramid made for the single-year-age distribution of population can
also show the phenomenon of digital preference or digit avoidance in
reporting of age,
Figure 2.2 below contains the age-sex pyramids of two developing countries,
India and the Philippines, and two developed countries, Sweden and the
United Kingdom.
From Figure 2.2, it is obvious that the pyramids are of two sets of countries
which have two different shapes. i) The pyramids of the two developing
countries, India and the Philippines, have broad base and steeply sloping
sides, indicating a large proportion of children and young persons and a
small proportion of old people in the population. ii) The pyramids of the
two developed countries, Sweden and the United Kingdom, are almost
rectangular in shape, with a slight sloping at the older ages. These pyramids
indicate a lower proportion of children and a higher proportion of the adults
and the elderly in the population. Those populations which have a higher
proportion of children and young persons are termed as "Young" populations,
while those with lower proportions of children and youth and a higher
proportion of adult and old population are known as " o l d populations. It
is, therefore, ironical to observe that old countries, in the sense of having
long histories, such as India, Egypt and China, have very "young"
populations, while comparativelyyoung countries like the United Kingdom,
France, Sweden and the United States have "old" populations. Thus, it must
70
 '
be clearly understood that there is a distinction between the chronological Demographic Concepts
age of a nation, which is measured from the~timeof a country's inception,
and the "age" of the population, that is, the age distribution of the population.
Similarly, the distinction between the age of an individual in the population
and the age of the population must also be kept in mind. The former, that is,
the age of an individual, moves only in one direction, that of an inexorable

undergo changes with the passage of time.

n u s , demographic data is of great help in studying various aspectsof population ;

and the factors influencing the same. Based on some preliminary data available
from the current census, among others (Family Welfare Year Book, 2009 and
Popu1aHonand Development http://en. ~ikipedia.org/wiki/~emo~ra~hics-of-~ndia)
some demographic
Education: An Overvlew
characteristics are given below.

Demographic characteristics of India, Census 2011

Population 1 , 210, 193,422 (20 11 estimate)
Male Population 623,700,000 (623.7 millions)
Female Population 586,500,000 (586.5 million)
Sex Ratio 9 14 females per 1000 males
Growth Rate 1.4 1% (2009 estimate)
Birth Rate 22.22 births 11000 population (2009 est)
Death Rate 6.4 deaths / 1000 population (2009 est)
Life Expectance 69.89 years (2009 est)
Male Life Expectance 67.46 years (2009 est)
Female Life Expectance 72.61 years (2009 est)
Total Fertility Rate 2.68 (2010 est)
Infant Mortality Rate 30.15 deaths 11000 live births
Density 382
Sex Ratio 940
Literacy Rate 74.0 (2011)
Female Literacy 65.5 (2011)
Male Literacy 82.1 (2011)

Due to constraints of space, time and scope we will not discuss all such
characteristicsof population here. However, we will discuss below the measures
of population distribution and population change.

2.6 MEASURES OF POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

AND POPULATION CHANGE
In the preceding section, we have discussed at length the concepts of population
distribution and its structure or composition. In this section, we will deal with
the measures of population distribution and of its changes.

2.6.1 Measures of Population Distribution/Composition

In this sub-section, we will focus on the measures of population distribution
andlor its composition mainly pertaining to population density (how densely it
is distributed), sex ratio (distribution by males and females) and dependency
ratio (distribution of the young, old and other dependents).

2.6.1.1 Population Density

The density of population in an area is usually computed as the number of persons
per square km or per square mile of land area. Jt is, however, a misleading index
72

.
Rank in States and Density (per sq. km.) Rank in
2001 Union territories* 2001 1991 1991
1 2 3 4 5
1 Delhi* 9,294 6,352 1
2 Chandigarh* 7,903 5,632 2
3 Pondicherry* . 2,029 1,683 3
4 Lakshadweep* 1,894 1,616 4
5 Daman & Diu* 1,411 907 5
6 West Bengal 904 767 6
I

7 Bihar 880 685 8

8 Kerala 819 548 7
9 Uttar Pradesh 689 403 9
10 Punjab 482 429 11
11 Tamil Nadu 478 372 10
12 Har~ana 477 282 12
13 Dadra & Nagar Haveli* 449 316 15
14 -
- Goa --
363 286 13
15 Assam 340 274 14
16 Jharkhand 338 257 16
17 Maharashtra 3 14 263 18
18 Tripura 304 242 17
19 Andhra Pradesh 275 235 19
20 - Karnataka 275 21 1 20
21 Gujarat 258 203 21
22 Orissa 236 158 22
23 Madhya Pradesh 196 129 23
24 Rajasthan 165 133 26
Population and Development
Education: An Overview 25 Uttaranchal 159 130 24
'
26 Chhattisgarh 154 73 25
27 Nagaland 120 93 31
28 Himachal Pradesh 109 82 27
29 Manipur 107 79 28
30 Meghalaya 103 77 29
31 Jarnmu *andKashmir 99 57 30
32 Sikkim 76 34 32
33 Andaman & Nicobar Islands* 43 33 33
34 Mizorarn 42 33 34
35 Arunachal Pradesh 13 10 35
Note: While working out the density figures for Jarnmu and Kashmir for 1991and 2001 censuses,
the entire area and population of those portions of Jammu and Kashmir which are under
illegal occupation of Pakistan and China have not been taken into account.

NK
Density =-
SK "
Where:
N = Total population,
K = the quantity of requirement per capita,
S = area in square kilometers, and
K" = the quantity of resources produced per square kilometer.

2.6.1.2 Sex Ratio

Sex ratios are the measures of composition of either sex of the given population.
a) Masculinity proportion: The simplest measure of sex composition of a
population is the masculinity ratio defined as the percentage of males in the
population. The formula for the masculinity proportion is:

< xl00 or :"x100

pm +p/ r:
Where:
Pmand P, denote the population of males and females respectively, and
P, denotes the total population.

b) Sex ratio: This is the most widely used and principal measure of sex
composition that has enjoyed the maximum use in analytical demography.
It is usually defined as the number of females per 1000 males in a population,
that is,
74
 Demographic Concepts

But, some demographers use it as, Sex ratio = L x 1000 as well, i.e. number of
Pr
males per 1000 females.
It is obviously directly related to masculinity proportion. The points of balance
of sexes of the two measures, i.e. masculinity proportion and sex ratio are 50 and
1000. ~tmeans, a masculinity proportion of less than 50 kdicates excess of females
than males and if it is more than 50 it indicates excess of males. Similarly, a sex
ratio more than 1000 depicts the excess of females over males and a sex ratio
below 1000 indicates an excess of males.

Sex ratio can be calculated for various brackets of the population. It can be used
for evaluation of data providing a check for internal consistency. It is essentially
a function of: (a) sex ratio at birth; (b) sex ratio of migrants; and (c) differential
mortality patterns of the two sexes.
Example: Sex ratio for India, 1971.
Population of males Pm= 284,049,276
Population of females P, = 264,110,376

0 51.82
pm -~ 1 0 =
Masculinity proportion = --
P, +Pf

The study of sex ratio in a population is important primarily because of two

reasons. Firstly, analysis of the sex ratio can help us in drawing several inferences
regarding the dynamics of demographic phenomena; andsecondly, it has bearing

In India, however, sex differential of external migrants, even if it exists cannot

explain the deficit of females, simply because the external migration in relation
to the size of population of India is small; migration may have slight effect at the
state level, and in urban and rural areas.

Sex ratio is invariably lower in the urban areas than in the rural areas. One finds
a much higher proportion of males in the working ages in urban India. This is
certainly because of migration of single males from rural to urban areas for
educational, economic or such other related purposes. Thus, there exists variations
in the sex ratios between the States of a given country or those of different
countries as well.

In Table 2.12 we can observe the differences in the sex ratio of selected countries.
Country Year Sex Ratio
(Males per 1000 females)
Indian 200 1(c) 1072
Pakistan 1995 1060
Bangladesh 1990 1067
Indonesia 1995 995
Japan 1994 963
Iran 1991(c) 1063
Nepal 1991(c) 995
Sri Lanka 1994 1040
Philippines 1995 1010
Singapore 1995 1010
United States of America 1995 954
China 1990(c) 1060
Argentina 1993 956"'
Brazil 1994 976
United Kingdom 1994 959
France 1993 949
Sweden 1994 977
Germany 1994 946
Thailand 1995 1005
 Demographic Concepts
Gujarat 954 946 944 945 941 952 940 934

Haryana 867 835 844 841 869 871 868 867

H.l? 884 889 890 897 890 912 938 958

J. and K. 882 876 870 865 869 873 878 878

Karnataka 983 981 969 965 960 966 959 957

Kerala 1,004 1,008 1,011 1,022 1,027 1,028 2,022 1,016

M.P. 990 986 974 973 970 967 953 941

Maharashtra 978 966 950 947 949 941 936 930

Manipur 1,037 1,029 1,041 1,065 1,055 1,036 1,015 980

Meghalaya 1,036 1,013 1,000 971 996 949 937 941

Nagaland 973 993 992 997 1,021 999 933 871

Orissa 1,037 1,056 1,086 1,067 1,053 1,022 1,001 988

Punjab 832 780 799 815 836 844 854 865

Rajasthan 905 908 896 907 906 921 908 911

Sikkim 916 951 970 967 920 907 904 863

Tamil Nadu 1,044 1,042 1,029 1,027 1,012 1,007 992 978
Tripura 874 885 885 885 886 904 932 943

U.P. 937 915 909 904 907 910 909 879

West Bengal 945 920 905 890 852 865 878 891

Andarnan and 318 352 303 495 574 625 617 644
Nicobar Island

Arunachal Pradesh - - - - - - 894 861

Chandigarh 771 720 743 751 763 781 652 749

Dadra and Nagar 960 967 940 911 925 946 963 1,007
Haveli
Delhi 862 793 733 722 715 768 785 801

Goa, Darnan and 1,085 1,103 1,122 1,088 1,028 1,083 1,071 989
Diu

Lakshadweep 1,063 987 1,027 994 1,018 1,043 1,020 978

Mizoram 1,113 1,120 1,109 1,102 1,069 1,041 1,009 946

Pondicherry NA 1,058 1,053 NA NA 1,030 1,013 989

Population and Development Table 2.14: Overall Sex Ratio in India - 1901-2011
Education: An Overview

Sources: * http://censusmp.gov.inlcensusmp/All-PDFi06GenderO/o2OComposition.pdf.
** Computed from the above data in second row.
Table 2.15: State-wise Sex Ratio in India in2011 compared with 2001 Census
 Demographic Concepts
25 Daman & Diu # 710 618 -12.96%
26 Dadra & Nagar Haveli # 812 775 -4.56%
27 Maharashtra 922 925 0.33%
28 Andhra Pradesh 978 992 1.43%
29 Karnataka 965 968 0.31%
30 Goa 961 968 0.73%
31 Lakshadweep # 948 946 -0.21%
32 Kerala 1058 1084 2.46%
33 Tamil Nadu 987 995 0.81%
34 Puducherry # 1001 1038 3.70%
35 Andaman & Nicobar Islands # 846 878 3.78%

-comparedwith-2001-
Source: http://updateox.com/india~state-wise-sex-raio-in-india-in-2011
census/

2.6.1.3 Dependency Ratio

Another aspect of population composition is dependency ratio. The dependency
ratio is measured as follows.

Dependency Ratio = 4-14 +&+ K

4 5 - 59

Po-,,, P,, and PI,,, denote the populations in the age groups 0-14,60+ and
15-59 respectively, and
K is 100.

e.g. If a country has 263065, 43 172 and 358772 population in the age-groups
0-14,60+ and 15-59 respectively, the dependency ratios are calculated as follows.

263065
Young Dependency Ratio = x 100 = 73.33
358772

43172
Old Dependency Ratio = ~ 1 0 =12.()3
0
358772

263065 +43 172

Total Dependency Ratio = Xloo = 85.36
358772

Total Dependency Ratio =Young Dependency Ratio + Old Dependency Ratio

i.e. 85.36 = 73.33 + 12.03.

The dependency ratio is not a completely accurate measure for assessing the
dependency burden, because not all persons in the working age are employed,
nor all those in the dependent age are economically-dependent. This measure,
however, gives us a broad idea of economic dependency in any population and
is, therefore, widely used.
79
Population and Development
Education: An Overview Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions".
2) What is dependency ratio? Explain, in brief, its importance in population
analysis. Compute it with any hypotheticaVactua1data of your choice.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
3) Explain the importance of population pyramid analysis.
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
2.6.2 Measures of Population Change
It is needless to mention that population always refers to a fixed boundary or
area, such as a Country, State, Province, District, Village, etc. The size of the
population in any area increases through births and immigration and decreases
mainly through death and out-migration.

Study of population change over time and space is an important aspect of

demography. Population change implies the change not only in its size but also
in its internal composition and structure with respect to its various characteristics
and spatial distribution. Before one envisages to study the implications of such
changes in population on various social, economic, political, cultural and eco-
systems including the demographic processes such as births, deaths and migration,
one needs the measurement of such change so as to have assessment of its actual
impact and magnitude of change potential on any given populations.

The total population of an area may be determined by a census count in two

ways. The easier way is the "de-facto"head-count in which all the persons are
to be counted in a place where they are found at the time of enumeration
irrespective of the fact that they actually belong to that place or not. This system
has greater chance of counting the moving population and ensures maximum
coverage of the population. It, however, fails to provide the exact area-wise
distribution of the population which is very much essential not only for
80 administrative purposes but also for planning various welfare programmes in
differentareas and for studying population trends. The other way in which census Demographic Concepts
count is done is known as "de-jure method in which persons are enumerated
"

on the basis of their place of usual residence. Most of the countries follow the
de-jure system of obtaining the total population of all areas. The concept of
"usual residence" is, however, vague and provides enough scope of rnisjudgement.
This does not include foreigners and temporary visitors, though they may be
substantial in number to affect the social and economic activitiesof the population.
Most of the modem censuses, therefore, combine the two systems to derive the
maximum information about the population.

Simple use of the exponential rate of growth of the population gives the idea of
birth and death rates in the remote past. This idea may further be expanded to
ascertain the change in birth rate over time.

Ratios and rates: The terms 'ratio' and 'rate' are not well defined in demography.
There are conceptual distinctions between the two, but these distinctions are not
consistently observed. For instance, survival rate, frequently used in demography
and actuarial science, is the ratio of the number of persons in a cohort at one date
to the number at an earlier date. It simply implies survival fiom a given age to a
subsequent age. It is usually calculated from two age distributions of different
censuses, or fiom a life table population. Survival rate fits the definition of a
ratio, in situations where one number is related to another number, to provide
comparison or relation between these two numbers. However, there are many
types of ratios. For more clarity about the ratios and rates, let us discuss them

2.6.2.1 Ratios
A "ratio" is a single term which expresses the size of one number in relation to
the size of another. Take for example, the sex ratio in the United States. It is
possible to express in a single figure -a ratio,- the fact that there are 978 males
per 1000 females. A ratio of 1000 would mean that the number of males is equal
to the number of females, whereas a ratio over 1000 would mean that there are
more men than women, and a ratio less than 1000 would mean there are fewer
men than women.

Rates are computed in the same manner as ratios. Conceptually, a rate may be
considered as a special case of a ratio. The difference between the two is the kind
of source materialldata used for the two numbers, numerator and denominator.
In demography, the term 'rate' implies a relationship between the numerator and
the denominator. The numerator refers to the events and the denominator is the
population at risk. The precision of a rate depends upon how closely we relate
events in the numerator to the population at risk in the denominator. For instance,
the incidence of divorce is often measured by the Crude Divorce Rate, which is
defined as the number of divorces in a given year per 1000 (or 100,000)midyear
population. This is not a refined measure because it is based on the mid-year
population (denominator)which includes, besides the divorced, the never married,
widowed and other persons who are not at the risk of being divorced.

2.6.2.2 Rates
As mentioned above, rate may be considered as a special case of a ratio. A "rate"
is computed like the ratios, but it has the additional feature of expressing what
81
Popu1Dti0nand has happened in terms of a certain unit of time. Usually, in demographic work,
Education: An Overview
the unit of time is a year if no other time unit is specified. The two most commonly
used rates are crude birth rates and crude death rates.

The use of rates and ratios is clear to most population specialists/scientists.Ratios

are used for descriptive purposes, and rates are used in the specific analysis of
change. Ratio indicates the degree of growth of a population, but it is not a "rate'
of growth." A rate of growth should express growth as a relative change in
population size per year (Barclay, 1958).

2.6.2.3 Proportions
A "proportion" is a particular kind of ratio. It does not express the size of one
part of a whole in relation to the size of another part of the same whole, which
you have already noticed under masculinity proportion in sub-section 2.6.1.2
above. A proportion shows the ratio of one part to the whole, or base number. Its
value is always between 0 and 1. For example, dividing the number of males in
1960 (89,008,000) by the total population in 1960 (180 million) of the United
States gives us 0.494, i.e. the proportion of males in the total population. When
there are only two components, as in this case, the proportion of females in the
total population can be calculated by subtracting the proportion of males from 1.
The sum of all the component proportions of a population must add up to 1.

2.6.2.4 Percents
A "percent" is a proportion multiplied by 100.A percent is a ratio calculated on
the assumption that the base number equals 100. For example, if the
above proportion of males (0.494) in the United States in 1960 is multiplied by
100, it gives us 49.4, which means the percent of male population, that is, the
number of males per 100 population. For popular consumption, demographers
turn their proportions into percents, because the percent is more commonly used
and more generally understood.

2.7 SOURCES OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA:

SYSTEMS AND METHODS
For any subject, to know data, sources of data are very essential. Data is required
for analysis, comparison or drawing conclusions, etc. There are different systems,
methods and procedures used for collection of data which provide reliable and
richasourcesof data about population for use or analysis by the demographers
and others.

2.7.1 Systems
The systems existing for population data in general are as follows.

2.7.1.1 Registration of Vital Events: Vital Statistics

The events such as birth, death, marriage, migration, etc are called vital events.
The registration of vital events is an important source of population information.
It is, therefore, essential to understand the terms "vital events", "vital records"
and 'vital statistics."

82
A person's entry into the world (by birth) and a person's departure from it (by Demographic Concepts
death) are considered to be vital events;because these events mark the beginning
and the end of a person's life. A still birth or a foetal death is also considered as
a vital event from the demographic point of view, for it is related to both the
events of birth and death. During the span of life from birth to death, a change
may take place in an individual's civil condition, that is, he or she may get married
or divorced, or may be adopted or move away from place of hislher birth. Such
events involving changes in the civil status of a person are also considered vital

Vital records may be defined as those concerned with vital events or those which
have recorded vital events such as births, deaths, still-births, marriages, divorces,
etc. The occurrence of a vital event is reported by the persons concerned to the
appropriate authorities. For instance, parents report the occurrence of a birth,
relatives report a death in the family or an individual reports his or her own

Along with the vital events, some ancillary information is also recorded. In case
of a birth, such information includes the date of birth, the sex of the baby, the age
of the mother and the number of her previous children, the order of the birth, the
residence of the mother, etc. In the case of a death, information of the date of
occurrence, age and sex of the deceased, place of occurrence, usual residence of
the deceased, cause of death, etc., is recorded.

2.7.1.2 Civil Registration in India: Background and Problems

The system of registration of vital events was introduced in India by the British
more than a hundred years ago. In the middle of the nineteenth century,
administrators began to attach importance to the registration of civil events,
especially of deaths. During that time, the death rate in India was very high,
perhaps, because sanitary and public health conditions were appalling. In such
circumstances, it was necessary to have fairly reliable estimates of death rates,
through registration of the number and the causes of deaths.

Though any failure to register births and deaths is punishable by law, the
importance of the registration of vital events is neither realized by the masses
nor by the local registering authorities. For most Indian people, few occasions
arise when birth and death certificates are required. It is, therefore, not surprising
that they do not appreciate the necessity of registering vital events.

2.7.1.3 Sample Registration System in India

In 1963-64, a new system, called the Sample Registration System, was initiated
in India, in which the technique of the dual report system was used for reliable
estimates of vital rates such as birth and death rates as well as the population
growth rate for India and different States. The Sample Registration System (SRS)
also fulfils the need to measure short-term changes in the rate of population
growth with a view to evaluating the effect of the national family planning
programme and projecting future trends of population growth. The SRS does
this by providing estimates of birth and death rates and population growth rates
in India as a whole and separately for rural and urban areas of various States and
Union Territories. The estimates of the SRS are considered to be fairly reliable.

83
Population and Development 2.7.1.4 Dual Reporting System
Education: An Overview
In many developing countries, in general, the data on births and deaths obtained
from the Civil Registration System are inadequate and inaccurate and, therefore,
are not useful for computing birth and death rates, the rate of population growth
or for any type of demographic analysis. Although efforts to improve the coverage
and quality of data on births and deaths have already been initiated, it is not
possible to improve the entire registration system in a short period of time.
Meanwhile, the need persists for yearly data on births, deaths and population
increase. To overcome this problem, a new method of data collection was
developed by demographers. This system is referred to as the "dual reporting
system". This method, in some form or the other, was tried out in India, Pakistan,
Turkey, Liberia, Colombia, Thailand, Morocco, the Philippines and Kenya, and
the experience gained was quite satisfactory. It is now widely recognized that
this dual report system is a powerful and useful instrument for demographic
purposes.

This new system, i.e. dual reporting system, may be broadly described as follows:
In a dual reporting system, each event of birth and death is enumerated by two
independent procedures; one is the registration of births and deaths, and the
other is the sample survey. The design of this system is based on an appropriate
number of small geographic samples. In each of these sample areas, a continuous
record is kept of the events of births and deaths as they occur. Ancillary
information about the events is also recorded at the same time. In the same sample
area, information about births and deaths along with the relevant information is
collected through periodic retrospective sample surveys. The information on each
event of birth and death, obtained through the continuous current registration
and the retrospective sample survey, is matched and the number of events missed
by both procedures is mathematically estimated. It is thus possible to arrive at an
accurate estimate of total births and deaths in the sample.

2.7.2 Methods
While the systems are in place the methods that the systems follow may be
different. However, the popular methods followed all over the world for
population data are given below.

2.7.2.1 Census Survey or Census Method

The most fundamental source of data for the study of population is the census
survey, which in India, is carried out by the Census Commissioner of India. In
fact, the very purpose of a census survey in modem times is to produce statistical
data on various aspects of population. Census survey involves a complete
enumeration of the entire population and the collection of information about
some important characteristics of each person at regular intervals with a view to
obtaining knowledge about the trends in population growth, its structure and
characteristics,among others.

A census survey of population may be defined "as the total process of collecting,
compiling and publishing demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at
a specified time or times, to all persons in a country or delimited territory". In
other words, it can be said that census is the collection of information about
births, deaths occupational, social and economic conditions of the people of the
country at a given time. Census has become a very popular method of collecting
84
 Demographic Concepts
information about the people. It helps not only in collecting figures but is much
more informative beyond that. It provides information about the economy of the
nation, rates of birth and death, rural-urban migration, living standard of the
people, family size, educational achievements, etc.

The first attempt to obtain information about the size of population in India, by
actually counting heads, was made during 1867-1872. This count was neither
synchronous, nor did it cover the whole country. As the noted demographer
Kingsley Davis (quoted in Asha and Tara, 2006, p.32) observed, it was just "an
auspicious beginning" of census taking in India. The next census, which was
synchronous, covered a wider area and was more modem in nature, was
undertaken in 1881. Since then, once in every ten years, a new census has been
taken in India. The 1971 census was the eleventh and marked the completion of
one hundred years of census taking in India. In 1972,the centenary of the Indian
Census was celebrated. The recent 2011 census represents the fifteenth census
of India, in this continuous series.

The Census of 1951, the ninth in the series, was in fact the first census conducted
in independent India. This census report discussed the growth and structure of
the population, and its economic development. The threat posed by the alarming
increase in population was properly evaluated, and the need for curbing the rate
of growth was emphasized. The practice of preparing district census handbooks
was also initiated. Data for smaller administrative units such as a village or an
urban block were thus made available, and micro-level planning became possible.
The Census of 1961 was marked by further improvements; carefully planned
and a great deal of publicity was given to it through the mass media such as
newspapers, pamphlets, radio, cinema, etc. The same practice was continued for
the 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, 201 1 censuses, with even further improvements
wherever possible. The data we have used in some tables in the preceding sections
are based on these census reports only.

According to the Indian Census Act of 1948, the Central Government is

empowered to notify and conduct a census in the whole country or any part of it.
It authorizes census enumerators to ask the prescribed census questions and legally
compel all persons to answer these questions truthfully. The Act also guarantees
that the information collected at any census from individuals shall be kept
confidential, shall be used only for statistical purposes and shall not be used as
evidence even in a court of law.

Today, the need and necessity of scientific means and methods of data collection
is being increasingly realised. Almost every State has passed a legislation by
which it is obligatory on each and every individual to provide relevant information
to the census enumerator. Today census covers not only population but also figures
are collected about houses, animals, schools, religious and charitable institutions,
etc. In fact, with every census every possible effort is made to collect more and
more data, since census survey is done, but only once in every 10 years.

Realising the need and necessity of census UNO in a census handbook has given
certain guidelines to all nations of the world to conduct census on uniform basis.
The data is now collected and brought to the notice of the society as a finished
product after putting it through different stages (Hans Raj, 1986, p.40).

85
 onandDevelopment Census Procedure: The procedure of census involves the following steps.
Education: An Overview
i) Determination of Contents
ii) Development of Census Schedule
iii) Division of Work
iv) Required Propaganda
v) Household-survey
vi) Pre-Testing of Questionnaire
vii) Proper Training
viii) Stress on Impartiality
ix) Tabulation of Information
x) Publication of data

i) Determination o f Contents: It is the first imvortant stage which decides as

f) Fertility, and g) Other Information.

Though the data on above lines is collected, yet in order to ensure that data
is correct, some precautionary steps such as the following are taken.
All the terms used have been properly defined;
Enumerators have been properly trained and motivated;
A climate has been created by which people are made ready to provide
information;
No column is added which seeks information of purely private and
personal nature;
Information to be collected is not very time-consuming;
Confidentiality of information collected should be fully ensured;
Information to be collected is manageable;
Each enumerator is given sufficient time to complete his work;
There is provision for checking that the information supplied is accurate.
ii) Development of Census Schedule: The questions should be so worded that
answer to one question can provide information on more than one point.
Not only this but also the questions should be so worded that the answers
are quite precise, clear and brief. All the questions should be pre-tested and
chained in such a manner that answers to one question becomes a link to
another question.

iii) Division of work: Before census time comes, the whole country should be
divided into regions and sub-regions for effective survey. In India, such
divisions include States, divisions, districts, tehsils, towns, cities, villages,
etc.
iv) Requiredpropaganda: In every country, before census officials approach Demographic Concepts
the respondents to start their work, the people are mentally prepared. With
the help of newspapers, posters, T.V., cinema, slides, etc., they are informed
that the census time has approached and also that the field-staff will be
contacting every person. They are also made to realise the importance and
significance of census work and legal obligation which they have in this
regard. They are also assured that all the informationwhich will be supplied
by them will be kept strictly confidential.

v ) Household survey: Few months before actual census work is undertaken an

actual household survey is unavoidable. Each area is divided into locality
and in each such locality each house is counted. With the help of past census,
it is found out in which area new dwelling units have come up and from
which areas, the population has migrated and in which areas population has
become less. This helps in finding out density and population on the one
hand and on the other, it is ensured that at the time of actual census no
house is omitted.

vi) Pre-testing of questionnaire: Census operation being both costly as well as

time consuming, every country questionnaire to be used at the time of census
is pre-tested. Questions included are put on select persons at random and
then it is seen, if the questions are so worded that these communicate the
same sense in which they were included and also that these do not carry
different meanings with different persons. In a country like India, where
questionnaires are to be translated into regional languages as well, it is to be
seen that each such questionnaire translated into regional language is pre-
tested. For this, it is obvious that people will have to be trained in advance
and clarity provided.

vii) Proper Training: Since census operation is a very complex process, before
the work starts, every effort should be made to see that the staff which is
being put on duty is well trained.

viii)Stress on Impartiality: Those who are put on duty may have their own
preferences and prejudices. However, they should be made to realise well
in advance that while collecting information from the respondents they
should not allow personal preferences to creep in. Similarly, they should
ensure that they are impartial in their duty and, thus, data collected is
unbiased.

ix) Tabulation of Information: During census period thousands are put on duty
who collect information from crores of people spread in different parts of
the country. The collected information has to be properly tabulated for W h e r

x) Publication of data: All information that is coded and tabulated is published

for the use of the society.

2.7.2.2 Sample Surveys

The Sample Survey is another method of demographic data collection for
population studies. In a sample survey, information is collected only from a
sample, which is representative of the whole of the population, from which
87
Education: z#F
Population a lopment
rview
~ ~ n ~ l u are ~ idrawn
o n ~ by the use of scientific methods. In a country like
Afghanistan, where no census was conducted, population data were collected
through sample surveys and some estimates were made of its size, growth,
structure and characteristics. Even in countries where regular census operations
are conducted, the need for collection of population data through sample surveys
7; is felt, for a census is taken in most countries only once in ten years. Therefore,
collection of data through sample surveys assumes greater significance in the
context of any interim data required on certain aspects of the population.

The National Sample Survey: The main objective of the National Sample
Survey has been to collect data on some important socio-economic aspects
on a comprehensive basis for the whole country through its various rounds
i:p ' by using the technique of sample survey. The First Round of the National
Sample Survey (NSS) was conducted in 1950; since then, information on
different items has been collected through various rounds of the NSS. The
?%I , topics covered so far include the following: fertility, mortality, population
24 .,
growth, economically active population, family planning, employment and
unemployment, consumers' expenditure patterns, housing conditions,
manufacturing industries, physically handicapped persons, conditions of the

> The National Family Health Survey (NFHS): The NFHS is a collaborative
8:- project of the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, all
$4
the Population Research Centers in the country, various data collecting
organisations such as the East-West CenterIMacro International, United
States of America, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New
st Delhi.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) which is a household sample survey
was carried out in 24 states and National Capital Territory of Delhi during 1992-
+*'
93. During 1998-99 a second round of the NFHS (NFHS-2) was started. The
-.
NFHS-2 is another important step to strengthen the database further for the
implementation of reproductive and child health approach, adopted by India since
1996. The third survey, (NFHS-3) was taken up in 2005-2006. Thus, these NFHS
surveys include:
National Fertility Household Survey (NFHS) - Phase I, 1992-1993.
National Fertility Household Survey (NFHS) - Phase 11, 1998-1999.
National Fertility Household Survey (NFHS) - Phase 111,2005-2006.

2.7.2.3 Population Registers

In some counties such as Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Israel, Taiwan and Korea
data about population can be obtained from continuously maintained population
registers, in which the name of each person in the country is entered. Important
migratory movements of individuals are also registered. The primary object of
setting up of this system of population registers is to establish the identity of
individuals and control them. These registers, however, are also used to obtain
such demographic information as current population size, internal migration,
data on vital events, etc.

88
 De-ic Concepts
2.7.2.4 International Publications
The United Nations and other international organisations periodically publish
demographic data for the world and for different countries. Some of the important
publications are:
IM

a Demographic Year Book: In this periodical, which is annually published by

the United Nations, data for the world and different countries are presented
on the following topics: population size, area, density, population growth,
population characteristics,number ofbirths and birth rate, number of deaths
and death rate, number of marriages and marriage rate, etc. Every year, a
special topic is selected for the presentation of data pertaining to it. Detailed
information is presented on the special topic selected and may cover one of #
the following: fertility (natality) mortality, population census statistics,
marriage, etc. For instance, the Demographic Year Book for 1974 presents
detailed data on mortality. The periodical is very useful not only to the
students of population studies but also to all others interested in population

Statistical Year Book: In this annual publication of the United Nations,

information on the following topics is available for various countries of the
world: national accounts, facilities of hospitals and availability of doctors,
energy consumption, food production, educational facilities, newspaper
circulation, availability of labour force, etc.
Epidemiological and Vtal Records: In this monthly periodical published
by the World Health Organisation information on public health and mortality
is presented for different countries of the world.
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to 'Check Your Progress' Questions".
4) Present in brief various international sources of population data.
.................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
5) Explain the significance of sample surveys in India.
................................................................................................................
. .
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
.
................................................................................................................
Populationand Development
Education: An Overview 2.8 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit, we have explained you important concepts used in demography or
population studies. We have highlighted the interrelationship: between demography
and other social sciences; between demography and population studies; and
between population studies and other disciplines. Further, we have covered the
aspects of population distribution and various characteristics of population like
age-structure, sex-structure, age- and sex-structure both taken together, population
pyramid and its implications, dependency ratio, and urban-rural differentials in
the composition. We have also touched upon various national and international
sources of demography 1 population data along with systems and procedures
involved in collection of such data.

2.9 ANSWERS TO 'CHECK YOUR PROGRESS'

QUESTIONS
1) Interrelationship between Demography and Economics: Relationship
between demography and 'economics has considerably increased during
20" century and thus both the subjects have come quite closer to each other.
This, perhaps, is the reason that demography today is even considered as a
branch of economics. Economics studies economic problems of the people,
and in that the demographic and population studies plays a very vital role.
Where there is more population, economic activities are bound to increase.
Population problems are directly linked and connected with employment,
per capita income, problems of development, rehabilitation, education,
transportation, industrialization, etc.
Demography influences economics in many important and different ways.
Changes in population influence labour force and the source of production.
Depending upon the changes in labour force the economists shall be in a
position to find out what amount of socially useful and productive labour is
available in the country and whether the labour intensive or capital intensive
techniques suit nation's economy, and so on. Demographers will help
economists in finding out the extent of unemployment and the types of
training as well as the opportunities needed by the country to remove
unemployment from the soil.
2) Dependency Ratio: It is a measure to study the structure of the population. It
is calculated as follows.

Dependency Ratio = 4-14 +%+K

4 5 -59

Where:
PO-14, and P,,,, denote the populations in the age groups 0-14,
60+ and 15-59 respectively, and
Kis100.

For example, if a country has 263065,43172 and 358772 population in the

age-groups 0-14, 60+ and 15-59 respectively, the dependency ratio is
calculated as follows.
90
 Demographic Concepts
263065 x 100 = 73.33
Young Dependency Ratio =
358772

43172
Old Dependency Ratio = XI00 =12.03
358772

263065 +43 172

Total Dependency Ratio = X 100 = 85.36
358772
Total Dependency Ratio =Young Dependency Ratio + Old Dependency Ratio
Therefore, 85.36 = 73.33 + 12.03.

However, it may be remembered that the dependency ratio is not a completely

accurate measure for assessing the dependency burden, for not all persons
in the working age are employed, nor all those in the dependent age are
economically-dependent. This measure, however, gives us a broad idea of
economic dependency in any population and is, therefore, widely used.

3) Population pyramid is a widely used graphical device to show the age-sex

composition of a population. It consists of a number of bars representing
successive age-groups in ascending order, from the lowest age at bottom to
the highest age at top. The length of a bar for any age-group represents the
number or percentage of males or females in that age-group, according to a
scale along the horizontal axis.

The pyramid can be made either way, in age-groups of width of 5 or 10 or in

single years of age. In any case, the highest bar refers to an open age interval
(say 80 years and above). The number of males and females can directly be
traced on the graph or represented in percentage form, without producing
any change in the geometrical shape of the pyramid. It is notable that the
percentage in sex-age group is calculated as in the total population and not
in the population of that sex. Depending on the trends of fertility, mortality
and migration, pyramid can take various shapes. The relative length of the
bar at the bottom indicates whether the recent fertility has been high or low.
Protuberances and indentations in the shape of pyramid reveal that
corresponding periods of either high fertility or high mortality, low mortality
or low fertility, immigration or emigration. If the historical trend does not
confirm the shape, it can, then, be explained by errors in reporting of age-
data. Pyramid made for the single-year-age distribution can also show the
phenomenon of digital preference or digit avoidance in reporting of age.

4) International sources/publicationsofpopulation data: The United Nations

and other international organisations periodically publish demographic data
for the world and for different countries. Some of the important publications
are given below.

Demographic YearBook: In this periodical, which is annually published

by the United Nations, data for the world and different countries are
presented on the following topics: population size, area, density,
population growth, population characteristics, number ofbirths and birth
rate, number of deaths and death rate, number of marriages and marriage
rate, etc. Every year, a special topic is selected for presentation of data 91
Population and Development pertaining to it. Detailed information is presented on the special topic
Education:An Overview
selected and may cover one of the following: fertility (natality), mortality,
population census statistics, mamage. For instance, the Demographic
Year Book for 1974 presents detailed data on mortality. The periodical
is very useful not only to the students of population studies but also to
all others interested in it.

Statistical Year Book: In this annual publication of the United Nations,

information on the following topics is available for various countries
of the world: national accounts, facilities of hospitals and availability
of doctors, energy consumption, food production, educational facilities,
newspaper circulation, availability of labour force, etc.

Epidemiological and Vital Records: In this monthly periodical published

by the World Health Organisation information on public health and
mortality is presented for different Countries of the world.

5 ) Significance ofSample Surveys: In a sample survey, information is collected

only from a sample, which is representative of the whole of the population,
and conclusions are drawn for the whole population by the use of scientific
methods. In a country like Afghanistan, where no census was conducted,
population data were collected through sample surveys and some estimates
were made of its size, growth, structure and characteristics. Even in countries
where regular census operations are conducted, the need for collection of
population data through sample surveys is felt, for a census is taken in most
countries only once in ten years. The collection of data through sample
surveys has several advantages also.

2.10 REFERENCES
Asha, A. Bhende, and Tara Kanitkar, 2006. Principles of Population Studies.
Bombay: Himalaya Publishing House.

Barclay, George W. 1958. The Nature of Demography: Techniques sf Population

Analysis. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Bhaskar, D. Misra, 1980: An Introduction to the Study of Population. Madras:

South Asian Publishing Pvt. Ltd.
Chandrasekhar, S. 1976. Population and Law in India. Bombay: Blackie and
Son (India) Limited.
Frank Lorimer, 1959. "The Development of Demography", in Philip M. Hauser
and Otis Dudley Duncan (Eds.). The Study of Population. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
Government of India. 2009. Family Welfare YearBook 2009. New Delhi: Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare.
Guillard, Achille. 1855. Elements de Statistique Humaine ou Demographie
Comparee. Paris: Guillaumin et cie.
Hans Raj. 1986.Fundamentals ofDemography: Population Studies with Special
Reference to India. New Delhi: Surjeet Publication.
92
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demography- Retrieved on 29-06-201 0. Demographic Concepts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DemographicsofIndia - Retrieved on 25-09-

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/m/1999-2000/2000m09.htm -Retrieved on
25-09-20 11.

Ian Bowen. 1973.Economics and Demography. London: George Alien, and New
York: McGraw Hill Book Company.

John Durand. 1962. "Demography's Three Hundredth Anniversary," Population

Index, Vo1.28, No.4, October, pp.333-334.

John Graunt. 1662. Natural and Political Observations on the London Bills of
Mortality. London.

Kingsley Davis. 1959. "The Sociology of Demographic Behaviouryy,in Robert

K Merton, Leonard Broom and Leondard S. Cottrell Jr. (Eds.). Sociology Today:
Problems and Prospects. New York: Basic Books.

- Retrieved
Luczkovich, see http://www.grin.com/en/e-booW60766/demography
on 29-06-2010.

Philip M. Hauser and Otis Dudley Duncan. 1959. "Overview and Conclusions",
in Philip M. Hauser and Otis Dudley ~ u n c a n(Eds.). The Study of Population.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Ralph Thomlinson. 1965. Population Dynamics. New York: Random House.

United Nations. 1997.Demographic Year Book 1995. New York: United Nations.

Warren, S. Thomspon. 1953. Population Problems. New York: McGraw Hill.

Suggested Readings
Kingsley Davis. 1945. "The World Demographic Transition", The Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol.ccxxxvii, January.

Kingsley Davis. 1968. The Population ofIndia and Pakistan. New York: Russell
and Russell.

Pathak, K. B., Ram, F. 1992. Techniques of Demographic Analysis. Bombay:

Himalaya Publishing House.

Shiva S. Halli, and Vaninadha Rao, K. 1992.Advanced Techniques ofPopulation

Analysis. New York and London: Plenum Press.

9: