NCERT Class 12 Geography Part 1 PDF

Contents FOREWORD iii UNIT I 1-7 1. Human Geography Nature and Scope 1 UNIT II 8-30 2. The World Population Distribution, Density and Grow...

Contents FOREWORD iii UNIT I 1-7 1. Human Geography Nature and Scope 1 UNIT II 8-30 2. The World Population Distribution, Density and Growth 8 3. Population Composition 17 4. Human Development 22 UNIT III 31-90 5. Primary Activities 31 6. Secondary Activities 45 7. Tertiary and Quaternary Activities 55 8. Transport and Communication 65 9. International Trade 81 UNIT IV 91-102 10. Human Settlements 90 APPENDIX I 103 APPENDIX II 107 GLOSSARY 110  You have already studied ‘Geography as a Unit-I U ni Discipline’ in Chapter I of the book, Chapter-1 Fundamentals of Physical Geography (NCERT, 2006). Do you recall the contents? This chapter has broadly covered and introduced you to the nature of geography. You are also acquainted with the important branches that sprout from the body of geography. If you re-read the chapter you will be able to recall the link of human geography with the mother discipline i.e. geography. As you know geography as a field of study is integrative, empirical, and practical. Thus, the reach of geography is extensive and each and every event or phenomenon which varies over space and time can be studied geographically. How do you see Human Geography the earth’s surface? Do you realise that the earth comprises two major components: nature Nature and Scope (physical environment) and life forms including human beings? Make a list of physical and human components of your surroundings. Physical geography studies physical environment and human geography studies “the relationship between the physical/natural and the human worlds, the spatial distributions of human phenomena and how they come about, the social and economic differences between different parts of the world”.1 You are already aware of the fact that the core concern of geography as a discipline is to understand the earth as home of human beings and to study all those elements which have sustained them. Thus, emphasis is on study of nature and human beings. You will realise that geography got subjected to dualism and the wide-ranging debates started whether geography as a discipline should be a law making/theorising (nomothetic) or descriptive (idiographic). Whether its subject matter should be organised and approach of the study should be regional or systematic? Whether geographical phenomena be interpreted theoretically or through historic- institutional approach? These have been issues for intellectual exercise but finally you will appreciate that the dichotomy between physical and human is not a very valid one because nature and human are inseparable elements and should be seen holistically. It is interesting to note that both physical and human 1 Agnew J. Livingstone, David N. and Rogers, A.; (1996) Blackwell Publishing Limited, Malden, U.S.A. p. 1 and 2. phenomena are described in metaphors using have already studied the elements of physical symbols from the human anatomy. environment in class XI in the book entitled We often talk of the ‘face’ of the earth, ‘eye’ Fundamentals of Physical Geography (NCERT of the storm, ‘mouth’ of the river, ‘snout’ (nose) 2006). You know that these elements are of the glacier, ‘neck’ of the isthmus and ‘profile’ landforms, soils, climate, water, natural vegetation of the soil. Similarly regions, villages, towns and diverse flora and fauna. Can you make a list have been described as ‘organisms’. German of elements which human beings have created through their activities on the stage provided by geographers describe the ‘state/country’ as a the physical environment? Houses, villages, cities, ‘living organism’. Networks of road, railways road-rail networks, industries, farms, ports, items and water ways have often been described as of our daily use and all other elements of material “arteries of circulation”. Can you collect such culture have been created by human beings terms and expressions from your own using the resources provided by the physical language? The basic questions now arises, can environment. While physical environment has we separate nature and human when they are been greatly modified by human beings, it has so intricately intertwined? also, in turn, impacted human lives. Naturalisation of Humans and u Human Ge og n Geography Geog ef e d Defined ed Humanisation of Nature “Human geography is the synthetic study Human beings interact with their physical of relationship between human societies and environment with the help of technology. It is earth’s surface”. Ratzel not important what human beings produce and create but it is extremely important ‘with the Synthesis has been emphasised in the help of what tools and techniques do they above definition. produce and create’. “Human geography is the study of “the Technology indicates the level of cultural changing relationship between the unresting development of society. Human beings were man and the unstable earth.” able to develop technology after they developed better understanding of natural laws. For Ellen C. Semple example, the understanding of concepts of friction and heat helped us discover fire. Dynamism in the relationship is the keyword Similarly, understanding of the secrets of DNA in Semple’s definition. and genetics enabled us to conquer many “Conception resulting from a more diseases. We use the laws of aerodynamics to synthetic knowledge of thephysical laws develop faster planes. You can see that governing our earth and of the relations knowledge about Nature is extremely important between the living beings which inhabit it”. to develop technology and technology loosens the shackles of environment on human beings. Paul Vidal de la Blache In the early stages of their interaction with their Human geography offers a new conception natural environment humans were greatly of the interrelationships between earth and influenced by it. They adapted to the dictates human beings. of Nature. This is so because the level of technology was very low and the stage of human social development was also primitive. This type of interaction between primitive NATURE OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY human society and strong forces of nature was termed as environmental determinism. At Human geography studies the inter-relationship that stage of very low technological development between the physical environment and socio- we can imagine the presence of a naturalised cultural environment created by human beings human, who listened to Nature, was afraid of through mutual interaction with each other. You its fury and worshipped it. 2 Fundamentals of Human Geography  human beings on nature for resources which e Naturalisation The l t no H an of Humans sustain them. The physical environment for such societies becomes the “Mother Nature”. Benda lives in the wilds of the Abujh Maad area of central India. His village consists of The people begin to understand their three huts deep in the wilds. Not even birds environment and the forces of nature with the or stray dogs that usually crowd villages can passage of time. With social and cultural be seen in these areas. Wearing a small development, humans develop better and more loin cloth and armed with his axe he slowly efficient technology. They move from a state of surveys the penda (forest) where his tribe necessity to a state of freedom. They create practices a primitive form of agriculture called possibilities with the resources obtained from shifting cultivation. Benda and his friends the environment. The human activities create burn small patches of forest to clear them cultural landscape. The imprints of human for cultivation. The ash is used for making the soil fertile. Benda is happy that the activities are created everywhere; health resorts Mahua trees around him are in bloom. How on highlands, huge urban sprawls, fields, lucky I am to be a part of this beautiful orchards and pastures in plains and rolling universe, he thinks as he looks up to see hills, ports on the coasts, oceanic routes on the the Mahua, Palash and Sal trees that have oceanic surface and satellites in the space. The sheltered him since childhood. Crossing the earlier scholars termed this as possibilism. penda in a gliding motion, Benda makes Nature provides opportunities and human his way to a stream. As he bends down to being make use of these and slowly nature gets scoop up a palmful of water, he remembers to thank Loi-Lugi, the spirit of the forest for humanised and starts bearing the imprints of allowing him to quench his thirst. Moving human endeavour. on with his friends, Benda chews on succulent leaves and roots. The boys have been trying to collect Gajjhara and Kuchla, Humanisation of Nature from the forest. These are special plants that Benda and his people use. He hopes Winters in the town of Trondheim mean fierce the spirits of the forest will be kind and lead winds and heavy snow. The skies are dark him to these herbs. These are needed to for months. Kari drives to work in the dark at barter in the madhai or tribal fair coming up 8 am. She has special tyres for the winter the next full moon. He closes his eyes and and keeps the headlights of her powerful car tries hard to recall what the elders had taught switched on. Her office is artificially heated him about these herbs and the places they at a comfortable 23 degrees Celsius. The are found in. He wishes he had listened more campus of the university she works in is built carefully. Suddenly there is a rustling of under a huge glass dome. This dome keeps leaves. Benda and his friends know it is the the snow out in winter and lets in the sunshine outsiders who have come searching for them in the summer. The temperature is controlled in the wilds. In a single fluid motion Benda carefully and there is adequate lighting. Even and his friends disappear behind the thick though fresh vegetables and plants don’t grow canopy of trees and become one with the in such harsh weather, Kari keeps an orchid spirit of the forest. on her desk and enjoys eating tropical fruits like banana and kiwi. These are flown in from warmer areas regularly. With a click of the The story in the box represents the direct mouse, Kari can network with colleagues in relationship of a household belonging to an New Delhi. She frequently takes a morning economically primitive society with nature. Read flight to London and returns in the evening in about other primitive societies which live in time to watch her favourite television serial. complete harmony with their natural Though Kari is fifty-eight years old, she is environment. You will realise that in all such cases fitter and looks younger than many thirty- nature is a powerful force, worshipped, revered year- olds in other parts of the world. and conserved. There is direct dependence of Human Geography: Nature and Scope 3  Can you imagine what has made such a approaches and thrusts shows the vibrant life style possible? It is technology that has nature of the discipline. Earlier there was little allowed the people of Trondheim and others to interaction between different societies and the overcome the constraints imposed by nature. Do knowledge about each other was limited. you know about some other such instances? Travellers and explorers used to disseminate Such examples are not difficult to find. information about the areas of their visits. A geographer, Griffith Taylor introduced Navigational skills were not developed and another concept which reflects a middle path voyages were fraught with dangers. The late (Madhyam Marg) between the two ideas of fifteenth century witnessed attempts of environmental determinism and possibilism. explorations in Europe and slowly the myths He termed it as Neodeterminism or stop and and mysteries about countries and people go determinism. Those of you who live in cities started to open up. The colonial period provided and those who have visited a city, might have impetus to further explorations in order to seen that traffic is regulated by lights on the access the resources of the regions and to obtain cross-roads. Red light means ‘stop’, amber light inventorised information. The intention here is provides a gap between red and green lights ‘to not to present an in-depth historical account get set’ and green light means ‘go’. The concept but to make you aware of the processes of steady shows that neither is there a situation of development of human geography. The absolute necessity (environmental determinism) summarised Table 1.1 will introduce you to the nor is there a condition of absolute freedom broad stages and the thrust of human (possibilism). It means that human beings can geography as a sub-field of geography. conquer nature by obeying it. They have to respond to the red signals and can proceed in Welfare or humanistic school of thought their pursuits of development when nature in human geography was mainly concerned permits the modifications. It means that with the different aspects of social well-being possibilities can be created within the limits of the people. These included aspects such which do not damage the environment and there as housing, health and education. is no free run without accidents. The free run Geographers have already introduced a which the developed economies attempted to paper as Geography of Social well-being in take has already resulted in the green house the Post Graduate curriculum’. effect, ozone layer depletion, global warming, receding glaciers and degrading lands. The Radical school of thought employed neo-determinism conceptually attempts to Marxian theory to explain the basic cause bring a balance nullifying the ‘either’ ‘or’ of poverty, deprivation and social inequality. dichotomy. Contemporary social problems were related to the development of capitalism. Human Geography through Behavioural school of thought laid great the Corridors of Time emphasis on lived experience and also on The process of adaptation, adjustment with and the perception of space by social categories modification of the environment started with the based on ethnicity, race and religion, etc. appearance of human beings over the surface of the earth in different ecological niches. Thus, if we imagine the beginning of human Fields and Sub-fields of Human Geography geography with the interaction of environment and human beings, it has its roots deep in Human geography, as you have seen, attempts history. Thus, the concerns of human to explain the relationship between all elements geography have a long temporal continuum of human life and the space they occur over. though the approaches to articulate them have Thus, human geography assumes a highly changed over time. This dynamism in inter-disciplinary nature. It develops close 4 Fundamentals of Human Geography  Table 1.1: Broad Stages and Thrust of Human Geography Period Approaches Broad Features Colonial period Exploration and Imperial and trade interests prompted the discovery and description exploration of new areas. An encyclopaedic description of the area formed an important aspect of the geographer’s account. Colonial period Regional analysis Elaborate description of all aspects of a region were undertaken. The idea was that all the regions were part of a whole, ie (the earth); so, understanding the parts in totality would lead to an understanding of the whole. 1930s through the Areal differentiation The focus was on identifying the uniqueness of any region inter-War period and understanding how and why it was different from others. Late 1950s to the Spatial organisation Marked by the use of computers and sophisticated late 1960s statistical tools. Laws of physics were often applied to map and analyse human phenomena. This phase was called the quantitative revolution. The main objective was to identify mappable patterns for different human activities. 1970s Emergence of Discontentment with the quantitative revolution and its humanistic, radical dehumanised manner of doing geography led to the and behavioural emergence of three new schools of thought of human schools geography in the 1970s. Human geography was made more relevant to the socio-political reality by the emergence of these schools of thought. Consult the box below to know a little bit more about these schools of thought. 1990s Post-modernism in The grand generalisations and the applicability of universal geography theories to explain the human conditions were questioned. The importance of understanding each local context in its own right was emphasised. interface with other sister disciplines in social expanding realm of human geography. The sciences in order to understand and explain boundaries between sub-fields often overlap. human elements on the surface of the earth. What follows in this book in the form of With the expansion of knowledge, new sub- chapters will provide you a fairly widespread fields emerge and it has also happened to coverage of different aspects of human human geography. Let us examine these fields geography. The exercises, the activities and the and sub-fields of Human Geography (Table 1.2). case studies will provide you with some You would have noticed that the list is empirical instances so as to have a batter large and comprehensive. It reflects the understanding of its subject matter. Human Geography: Nature and Scope 5  Table 1.2: Human Geography and Sister Disciplines of Social Sciences Fields of Sub-fields Interface with Sister Human Disciplines of Social Sciences Geography Social — Social Sciences – Sociology Geography Behavioural Geography Psychology Geography of Social Welfare Economics Well-being Geography of Leisure Sociology Cultural Geography Anthropology Gender Geography Sociology, Anthropology, Women’s Studies Historical Geography History Medical Geography Epidemology Urban — Urban Studies and Planning Geography Political — Political Science Geography Electoral Geography Psephology Military Geography Military Science Population — Demography Geography Settlement — Urban/Rural Planning Geography Economic — Economics Geography Geography of Resources Resource Economics Geography of Agriculture Agricultural Sciences Geography of Industries Industrial Economics Geography of Marketing Business Studies, Economics, Commerce Geography of Tourism Tourism and Travel Management Geography of International International Trade Trade E R IS S EXERCISES 1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below. (i) Which one of the following statements does not describe geography? (a) an integrative discipline (b) study of the inter-relationship between humans and environment 6 Fundamentals of Human Geography  (c) subjected to dualism (d) not relevant in the present time due to the development of technology. (ii) Which one of the following is not a source of geographical information? (a) traveller’s accounts (b) old maps (c) samples of rock materials from the moon (d) ancient epics (iii) Which one of the following is the most important factor in the interaction between people and environment? (a) human intelligence (c) technology (b) people’s perception (d) human brotherhood (iv) Which one of the following is not an approach in human geography? (a) Areal differentiation (c) Quantitative revolution (b) Spatial organisation (d) Exploration and description 2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (i) Define human geography. (ii) Name some sub-fields of human geography. (iii) How is human geography related to other social sciences? 3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words. (i) Explain naturalisation of humans. (ii) Write a note on the scope of human geography. Human Geography: Nature and Scope 7  The people of a country are its real wealth. It Unit-II U -II is they who make use of the country’s resources Chapter-2 and decide its policies. Ultimately a country is known by its people. It is important to know how many women and men a country has, how many children are born each year, how many people die and how? Whether they live in cities or villages, can they read or write and what work do they do? These are what you will study about in this unit. The world at the beginning of 21st century recorded the presence of over 6 billion population. We shall discuss the patterns of their distribution and density here. Why do people prefer to live in certain The World Population regions and not in others? The population of the world is unevenly Distribution, Density and distributed. The remark of George B. Cressey Growth about the population of Asia that “Asia has many places where people are few and few place where people are very many” is true about the pattern of population distribution of the world also. PATTERNS OF POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN THE WORLD Patterns of population distribution and density help us to understand the demographic characteristics of any area. The term population distribution refers to the way people are spaced over the earth’s surface. Broadly, 90 per cent of the world population lives in about 10 per cent of its land area. The 10 most populous countries of the world contribute about 60 per cent of the world’s population. Of these 10 countries, 6 are located in Asia. Identify these six countries of Asia. 130 120 Not gold but only (Wo)men can make 110 Population (in crore) 100 a people great and strong. 90 80 (Wo)men who for truth and 127.76 70 honour’s sake, stand fast and suffer 60 102.7 50 long (Wo)men who toil while others 40 30 sleep – who dare while others flee – 20 28.14 ia 21.21 il 17.01 15.65 14.69 10 an 12.69 h 12.92 11.15 they build a nation’s pillars deep and 0 tan ina ia eria A CIS des lift it to the sky. es az Ind US Jap kis Nig Ch on la Br Pa ng Ind Ba Ralph Waldo Emerson Fig. 2.1: Most Populous Countries DENSITY OF POPULATION on every sq km. These are the North -Eastern part of U.S.A., North-Western part of Europe, Each unit of land has limited capacity to South, South-East and East Asia. support people living on it. Hence, it is Other areas like those near the North and necessary to understand the ratio between the South Poles, the hot and the cold deserts and numbers of people to the size of land. This ratio high rainfall zones near the Equator have very is the density of population. It is usually low density of population. These are the measured in persons per sq km sparsely populated regions of the world with Population less than 01 person per sq km. Density of Population = In between these two types are the areas Area For example, area of Region X is 100 sq of medium density. There are 11 to 50 persons km and the population is 1,50,000 persons. per sq km in these areas. Western China, The density of population is calculated as: Southern India in Asia, Norway, Sweden in Europe are some examples. Look at the Fig. 2.2 1,50,000 and identify some other areas. Density 100 = 1,500 person/sq km FACTORS INFLUENCING THE What does this tell you about Region X? DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION Look at the map given below: Do you observe that some areas are really I. Geographical Factors crowded? These are the densely populated (i) Availability of water: It is the most parts of the world with more than 200 persons important factor for life. So, people prefer Fig. 2.2: World Density of Population, 2001 The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth 9  to live in areas where fresh water is easily amenities and the attraction of city life draw available. Water is used for drinking, people to the cities. It leads to rural to bathing and cooking – and also for cattle, urban migration and cities grow in size. crops, industries and navigation. It is Mega cities of the world continue to attract because of this that river valleys are among large number of migrants every year. the most densely populated areas of the world. (ii) Landforms: People prefer living on flat Yet city life can be very taxing…. think plains and gentle slopes. This is because of some of the unpleasant aspects of city such areas are favourable for the life. production of crops and to build roads and industries. The mountainous and hilly (iii) Industrialisation: Industrial belts provide areas hinder the development of transport job opportunities and attract large network and hence initially do not favour numbers of people. These include not just agricultural and industrial development. factory workers but also transport So, these areas tend to be less populated. operators, shopkeepers, bank employees, The Ganga plains are among the most doctors, teachers and other service densely populated areas of the world while providers. The Kobe-Osaka region of the mountains zones in the Himalayas are Japan is thickly populated because of the scarcely populated. presence of a number of industries. (iii) Climate: An extreme climate such as very hot or cold deserts are uncomfortable for III. Social and Cultural Factors human habitation. Areas with a Some places attract more people because they comfortable climate, where there is not have religious or cultural significance. In the much seasonal variation attract more same way – people tend to move away from people. Areas with very heavy rainfall or places where there is social and political extreme and harsh climates have low unrest. Many a times governments offer population. Mediterranean regions were incentives to people to live in sparsely inhabited from early periods in history due populated areas or move away from to their pleasant climate. overcrowded places. Can you think of some (iv) Soils: Fertile soils are important for agricultural and allied activities. Therefore, examples from your region? areas which have fertile loamy soils have more people living on them as these can POPULATION GROWTH support intensive agriculture. Can you The population growth or population change name some areas in India which are thinly refers to the change in number of inhabitants of populated due to poor soils? a territory during a specific period of time. This change may be positive as well as negative. It II. Economic Factors can be expressed either in terms of absolute numbers or in terms of percentage. Population (i) Minerals: Areas with mineral deposits change in an area is an important indicator of attract industries. Mining and industrial economic development, social upliftment and activities generate employment. So, skilled historical and cultural background of the region. and semi–skilled workers move to these areas and make them densely populated. Katanga Zambia copper belt in Africa is one such good example. Some Basic Concepts of (ii) Urbanisation: Cities offer better Population Geography employment opportunities, educational Growth of Population : Change of and medical facilities, better means of population in particular area between two transport and communication. Good civic points of time is known as growth of 10 Fundamentals of Human Geography  population. For example, if we deduct the thousand of population in a particular region. population of India 1991 (84.63 crore) from CDR is calculated as: population of 2001 (102.70 crore) then we shall get the growth of population (18.07 D CDR – 1000 crores) in actual numbers. P Growth Rate of Population : This is the Here, CDR=Crude Death Rate; D= Number change of population expressed in of deaths; P=Estimated mid-year population of percentage. that year. Natural Growth of Population: This is the By and large mortality rates are affected population increased by difference between by the region’s demographic structure, social births and deaths in a particular region advancement and levels of its economic between two points of time. development. Natural Growth = Births – Deaths Migration Actual Growth of Population : This is Births – Deaths + In Migration – Out Apart from birth and death there is another way Migration by which the population size changes. When people move from one place to Positive Growth of Population: This another, the place they move from is called the happens when the birth rate is more than Place of Origin and the place they move to is the death rate between two points of time called the Place of Destination. The place of or when people from other countries migrate permanently to a region. origin shows a decrease in population while the population increases in the place of destination. Negative Growth of Population: If the Migration may be interpreted as a spontaneous population decreases between two points effort to achieve a better balance between of time it is known as negative growth of population and resources. population. It occurs when the birth rate falls below the death rate or people migrate to Migration may be permanent, temporary other countries. or seasonal. It may take place from rural to rural areas, rural to urban areas, urban to urban areas and urban to rural areas. Do you realise that the same person is both Components of Population Change an immigrant and an emigrant? There are three components of population Immigration: Migrants who move into a new change – births, deaths and migration. place are called Immigrants. The crude birth rate (CBR) is expressed as Emigration: Migrants who move out of a number of live births in a year per thousand of place are called Emigrants. women. It is calculated as: Can you think of reasons why people Bi CBR – 1000 migrate? P Here, CBR = Crude Birth Rate; Bi = live People migrate for a better economic and births during the year; P=Mid year population social life. There are two sets of factors that of the area. influence migration. Death rate plays an active role in The Push factors make the place of origin population change. Population growth occurs seem less attractive for reasons like not only by increasing births rate but also due unemployment, poor living conditions, political to decreasing death rate. Crude Death Rate turmoil, unpleasant climate, natural disasters, (CDR) is a simple method of measuring epidemics and socio-economic backwardness. mortality of any area. CDR is expressed in terms The Pull factors make the place of of number of deaths in a particular year per destination seem more attractive than the place The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth 11 Observe the news items and think of some reasons why certain countries become attractive destinations for migrants. Migration to cities are traditionally age and sex selective i.e. more men of working age groups move to cities. Can you think of some reason why 22 per cent of migrants to Mumbai are kids? of origin for reasons like better job opportunities grew very slowly. It is only during the last few and living conditions, peace and stability, hundred years that population has increased security of life and property and pleasant climate. at an alarming rate. Fig. 2.3 tells the story of population TRENDS IN POPULATION GROWTH growth. After the evolution and introduction The population on the earth is more than six of agriculture about 8,000 to 12,000 years billion. It has grown to this size over centuries. ago, the size of population was small – roughly In the early periods population of the world 8 million. In the first century A.D. it was below World Number of years for world population population to increase in billions by 1 billion Technological revolutions 6 billion 1999 (12 years) 1650 to present 5 billion 1987 (12 years) 4 billion 1975 Information and computers (15 years) 3 billion 1960 Biotechnology (30 years) 2 billion 1930 Sanitation and Medical Transportation Industrial (100 years) Development and spread of agriculture Age of European exploration, colonisation and settlement (0.25 billion) (0.5 billion) 1 billion 1830 12000 years Birth of 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 before Christ Present present Time Fig. 2.3: Resource, Technology and Population Growth 12 Fundamentals of Human Geography  Table 2.1: Doubling Time of World Population Period Population Time in which Population Doubles 10,000 B.C. 5 million 1650 A.D. 500 million 1,500 years 1850 A.D. 1,000 million 200 years 1930 A.D. 2,000 million 80 years 1975 A.D. 4,000 million 45 years 2012 A.D. 8,000 million projected figure 37 years 300 million. The expanding world trade during it took only 12 years for it to rise from 5 billion the sixteenth and seventeenth century, set the to 6 billion. See the Table 2.1 carefully which stage for rapid population growth. Around shows that doubling time of world population 1750, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, is reducing fast. the world population was 550 million. World There is a great variation among regions population exploded in the eighteenth century in doubling their population. Table 2.2 shows after the Industrial Revolution. Technological that developed countries are taking more time advancement achieved so far helped in the to double their population as compared to reduction of birth rate and provided a stage for developing countries. Most of the population accelerated population growth. growth is taking place in the developing world, where population is exploding. Why is this so? How Science c c anda d Technology og h p helped P u a io G Population h Growth? Table 2.2: Population Growth Rates (%) 1995-2000 The steam engine replaced human and High Low animal energy and also provided Liberia 8.2 Latvia –1.5 mechanised energy of water and wind. This Somalia 4.2 Estonia –1.2 increased agricultural and industrial Yemen 3.7 Russia, Ukraine –0.6 production. Saudi Arabia 3.4 Albania, Bulgaria Inoculation against epidemics and other Oman 3.3 Croatia communicable diseases, improvement in Slovania, Czech Republic Germany, Portugal –0.1 medical facilities and sanitation contributed Spain, Italy to a rapid decline in death rates throughout the world. Denmark 0 SPATIAL PATTERN OF POPULATION CHANGE Population growth in different parts of the world Human population increased more than ten times in can be compared. The growth of population is the past 500 hundred years. low in developed countries as compared to developing countries. There is negative In the twentieth century itself the population has correlation between economic development and increased four times. population growth. Although the annual rate of population Nearly 80 million people are added each year. change (1.4 per cent) seems to be low (Table 2.3), it is actually not so. This is because: DOUBLING TIME OF WORLD POPULATION When a small annual rate is applied to a It took more than a million years for the human very large population, it will lead to a large population to attain the one billion mark. But population change. The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth 13  Figure 2.4: Population Doubling Time Even if the growth rate continues to decline, these the depletion of resources is the most the total population grows each year. The serious. Population decline is also a matter of infant mortality rate may have increased concern. It indicates that resources that had as has the death rate during childbirth. supported a population earlier are now insufficient to maintain the population. Table 2.3: Growth of Population 2004-05 over 1990-95 The deadly HIV/AIDS epidemics in Africa and some parts of the Commonwealth of Independent Growth Rate States (CIS) and Asia have pushed up death rates Region 1990-95 2004-05 and reduced average life expectancy. This has (Estimated) slowed down population growth. World 1.6 1.4 Africa 2.4 2.6 Europe 0.2 0.0 The Doubling Story... It will North & Central America 1.4 1.1 take 36 years South America 1.7 1.4 Asia 1.6 1.4 The annual population growth rate in India Oceania 1.5 1.3 is 1.9 per cent. At this rate India’s population (Australia, New Zealand and Fiji) of over 1 billion will double in 36 years. Some developed countries will take 318 years to double their population whereas IMPACT OF POPULATION CHANGE some countries still do not show symptoms A small increase in population is desirable in a of doubling their population. growing economy. However, population growth beyond a certain level leads to problems. Of 14 Fundamentals of Human Geography DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION engaged in agriculture where large families are an asset. Life expectancy is low, people are Demographic transition theory can be used to mostly illiterate and have low levels of describe and predict the future population of technology. Two hundred years ago all the any area. The theory tells us that population of countries of the world were in this stage. any region changes from high births and high Fertility remains high in the beginning of deaths to low births and low deaths as society second stage but it declines with time. This is progresses from rural agrarian and illiterate to accompanied by reduced mortality rate. urban industrial and literate society. These Improvements in sanitation and health changes occur in stages which are collectively conditions lead to decline in mortality. Because known as the demographic cycle. of this gap the net addition to population is high. Rural, Demographic Urban, In the last stage, both fertility and mortality Agrarian Transition Industrial decline considerably. The population is either stable or grows slowly. The population becomes urbanised, literate and has high technical know- The Fig. 2.5 explains the three-staged how and deliberately controls the family size. model of Demographic Transition Theory: This shows that human beings are High Fluctuating extremely flexible and are able to adjust their Stage Stage Stage fertility. I II III In the present day, different countries are Expanding BR at different stages of demographic transition. 35 POPULATION CONTROL MEASURES CBR/CDR Natural Increase in Low Fluctuating Population Family planning is the spacing or preventing DR the birth of children. Access to family planning 15 services is a significant factor in limiting population growth and improving women’s Bangladesh Peru Sri Lanka Canada health. Propaganda, free availability of Present Rainforest Kenya Japan World tribes USA contraceptives and tax disincentives for large examples Time families are some of the measures which can help population control. Thomas Malthus in his theory (1793) stated that the number of people would Fig. 2.5: Demographic Transition Theory increase faster than the food supply. Any further increase would result in a population The first stage has high fertility and high crash caused by famine, disease and war. The mortality because people reproduce more to preventive checks are better than the physical compensate for the deaths due to epidemics checks. For the sustainability of our resources, and variable food supply. The population the world will have to control the rapid growth is slow and most of the people are population increase The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth 15  E R IS S EXERCISES 1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below. (i) Which one of the following continents has the highest growth of population? (a) Africa (c) Asia (b) South America (d) North America (ii) Which one of the following is not an area of sparse population? (a) The Atacama (c) Equatorial region (b) South-east Asia (d) Polar regions (iii) Which one of the following is not a push factor ? (a) Water shortage (c) Unemployment (b) Medical/educational facilities (d) Epidemics (iv) Which one of the following is not a fact ? (a) Human population increased more than ten times during the past 500 years. (b) Nearly 80 million people are added to the world population each year. (c) It took 100 years for the population to rise from 5 billion to 6 billion. (d) Population growth is high in the first stage of demographic transition? 2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (i) Name three geographical factors that influence the distribution of population. (ii) There are a number of areas with high population density in the world. Why does this happen? (iii) What are the three components of population change? 3. Distinguish between: (i) Birth rate and death rate. (ii) Push factors and pull factors of migration. 4. Answer the following questions in about 150 words. (i) Discuss the factors influencing the distribution and density of population in the world. (ii) Discuss the three stages of demographic transition. M p Skill Map il On the outline map of the world, show and name the following. (i) Countries of Europe and Asia with negative growth rate of population. (ii) African countries with growth rate of population more than three per cent. (You may refer to Appendix 1). / iv Project/Activity j (i) Has someone in your family migrated? Write about her/his place of destination. What made her/him migrate? (ii) Write a brief report on the distribution and density of population in your state. 16 Fundamentals of Human Geography  People of any country are diverse in many Unit-II U -II respects. Each person is unique in her/his own Chapter-3 way. People can be distinguished by their age, sex and their place of residence. Some of the other distinguishing attributes of the population are occupation, education and life expectancy. SEX COMPOSITION The number of women and men in a country is an important demographic characteristic. The ratio between the number of women and men in the population is called the Sex Ratio. In some countries it is calculated by using the formula: Male Population × 1000 Female Population Population or the number of males per thousand females. Composition In India, the sex ratio is worked out using the formula: Female Population × 1000 Male Population or the number of females per thousand males. The sex ratio is an important information about the status of women in a country. In regions where gender discrimination is rampant, the sex ratio is bound to be unfavourable to women. Such areas are those where the practice of female foeticide, female infanticide and domestic violence against women are prevalent. One of the reasons could be lower socio-economic status of women in these areas. You must remember that more women in the population does not mean they have a better status. It could be that the men might have migrated to other areas for employment. Natural Advantage v/s Social Disadvantage Females have a biological advantage over males as they tend to be more resilient than males yet this advantage is cancelled out by the social disadvantages and discriminations that they face.  On an average, the world population Fig. 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 show different types reflects a sex ratio of 990 females per 1000 of population pyramids. males. The highest sex ratio in the world has been recorded in Latvia which is 1187 females Expanding Populations per 1000 males. In contrast, the lowest sex ratio The age-sex pyramid of Nigeria as you can see occurs in U.A.E. which is 468 females per 1000 is a triangular shaped pyramid with a wide males. base and is typical of less developed countries. The world pattern of sex ratio does not These have larger populations in lower age exhibit variations in the developed regions of groups due to high birth rates. If you construct the world. The sex ratio is favourable for females the pyramids for Bangladesh and Mexico, it in 139 countries of the world and unfavourable would look the same. for them in the remaining 72 countries listed by the United Nations. NIGERIA, 2003 In general, Asia has a low sex ratio. 80+ 75-79 Countries like China, India, Saudi Arabia, 70-74 65-69 Pakistan, Afghanistan have a lower sex ratio. Age Groups Years 60-64 On the other extreme is greater part of 55-59 50-54 MALE FEMALE Europe (including Russia) where males are in 45-49 40-44 minority. A deficit of males in the populations 35-39 30-34 of many European countries is attributed to 25-29 better status of women, and an excessively 20-24 15-19 male-dominated out-migration to different 10-14 5-9 parts of the world in the past. 0-4 10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 Per cent Age Structure Data source: Demographic Year Book, 2003, United Nations Statistics Division. Data refer to national projection Age structure represents the number of people Fig. 3.1: Expanding Population of different age groups. This is an important indicator of population composition, since a Constant Population large size of population in the age group of 15- 59 indicates a large working population. A Australia’s age-sex pyramid is bell shaped and greater proportion of population above 60 years tapered towards the top. This shows birth and represents an ageing population which requires death rates are almost equal leading to a near more expenditure on health care facilities. constant population. Similarly high proportion of young population would mean that the region has a high birth AUSTRALIA, 2003 85+ rate and the population is youthful. 80-84 75-79 70-74 Age-Sex Pyramid 65-69 Age Groups Years 60-64 55-59 MALE FEMALE The age-sex structure of a population refers 50-54 45-49 to the number of females and males in 40-44 35-39 different age groups. A population pyramid 30-34 is used to show the age-sex structure of the 25-29 20-24 population. 15-19 10-14 The shape of the population pyramid 5-9 0-4 reflects the characteristics of the population. 10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 The left side shows the percentage of males while Per cent Data source: Demographic Year Book, 2003, United Nations Statistics Division. the right side shows the percentage of women in each age group. Fig. 3.2: Constant Population 18 Fundamentals of Human Geography Declining Populations The criteria for differentiating rural and urban population varies from country to country. The Japan pyramid has a narrow base and a In general terms rural areas are those where tapered top showing low birth and death rates. people are engaged in primary activities and urban The population growth in developed countries areas are those when majority of the working is usually zero or negative. population is engaged in non-primary activities. JAPAN, 2003 Fig. 3.4 shows rural urban sex composition 85+ 80-84 of selected countries. The rural and urban 75-79 70-74 differences in sex ratio in Canada and West Age Groups Years 65-69 60-64 European countries like Finland are just the 55-59 MALE FEMALE opposite of those in African and Asian countries 50-54 45-49 like Zimbabwe and Nepal respectively. In 40-44 35-39 Western countries, males outnumber females 30-34 25-29 in rural areas and females outnumber the males 20-24 15-19 in urban areas. In countries like Nepal, Pakistan 10-14 5-9 and India the case is reverse. The excess of 0-4 females in urban areas of U.S.A., Canada and 10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 Per cent Europe is the result of influx of females from Data source: Demographic Year Book, 2003, United Nations Statistics Division. rural areas to avail of the vast job opportunities. Excluding diplomatic personnel outside the country and foreign military and Farming in these developed countries is also civilian personnel and their dependants stationed in the area highly mechanised and remains largely a male Fig. 3.3: Declining Population occupation. By contrast the sex ratio in Asian urban areas remains male dominated due to the predominance of male migration. It is also worth noting that in countries like India, female Draw a population pyramid of the children in your school participation in farming activity in rural area is and describe its characteristics. fairly high. Shortage of housing, high cost of living, paucity of job opportunities and lack of security in cities, discourage women to migrate Ageing Population from rural to urban areas. Population ageing is the process by which the share of the older population becomes Literacy proportionally larger. This is a new Proportion of literate population of a country phenomenon of the twentieth century. In most of the developed countries of the world, in an indicator of its socio-economic population in higher age groups has increased development as it reveals the standard of living, due to increased life expectancy. With a social status of females, availability of reduction in birth rates, the proportion of educational facilities and policies of children in the population has declined. government. Level of economic development is both a cause and consequence of literacy. In India – literacy rate denotes the percentage of RURAL URBAN COMPOSITION population above 7 years of age, who is able to read, write and have the ability to do arithmetic The division of population into rural and urban calculations with understanding. is based on the residence. This division is necessary because rural and urban life styles differ from each other in terms of their livelihood Occupational Structure and social conditions. The age-sex-occupational The working population (i.e. women and men structure, density of population and level of of the age group – 15 to 59) take part in various development vary between rural and urban areas. occupations ranging from agriculture, forestry, Population Composition 19  1200 1129 Rural 1083 1063 1040 1051 Urban 986 1007 1012 1000 941 935 908 939 Females per 1000 Males 800 600 400 200 0 Finland Canada New Zealand Brazil Zimbabwe Nepal Fig. 3.4: Rural Urban Sex Composition, 2003 (Selected Countries) fishing, manufacturing construction, sectors is a good indicator of the levels of commercial transport, services, communication economic development of a nation. This is and other unclassified services. because only a developed economy with Agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining industries and infrastructure can are classified as primary activities accommodate more workers in the secondary, manufacturing as secondary, transport, tertiary and quaternary sector. If the economy communication and other services as tertiary is still in the primitive stages, then the and the jobs related to research and developing proportion of people engaged in primary ideas as quaternary activities. The proportion activities world be high as it involves extraction of working population engaged in these four of natural resources. E ER IS S EXERCISES 1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below. (i) Which one of the following has caused the sex ratio of the United Arab Emirates to be low? (a) Selective migration of male working population (b) High birth rate of males (c) Low birth rate of females (d) High out migration of females 20 Fundamentals of Human Geography  (ii) Which one of the following figures represents the working age group of the population? (a) 15 to 65 years (c) 15 to 66 years (b) 15 to 64 years (d) 15 to 59 years (iii) Which one of the following countries has the highest sex ratio in the world? (a) Latvia (c) Japan (b) United Arab Emirates (d) France 2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (i) What do you understand by population composition? (ii) What is the significance of age-structure? (iii) How is sex-ratio measured? 3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words. (i) Describe the rural-urban composition of the population. (ii) Discuss the factors responsible for imbalances in the sex-age found in different parts of the world and occupational structure. Project/Activity Construct an age-sex pyramid for your district/state. Population Composition 21  The words ‘growth’ and ‘development’ are not Unit-II U -II new to you. Look around you, almost everything Chapter-4 that you can see (and many that you cannot) grows and develops. These may be plants, cities, ideas, nations, relationships or even you yourself! What does this mean? Do growth and development mean the same thing? Do they accompany each other? This chapter discusses the concept of human development as it pertains to nations and communities. Human Development GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Both growth and development refer to changes over a period of time. The difference is that growth is quantitative and value neutral. It may have a positive or a negative sign. This means that the change may be either positive (showing an increase) or negative (indicating a decrease). Development means a qualitative change which is always value positive. This means that development cannot take place unless there is an increment or addition to the existing conditions. Development occurs when positive growth takes place. Yet, positive growth does not always lead to development. Development occurs when there is a positive change in quality. For example, if the population of a city grows from one lakh to two lakhs over a period of time, we say the city has grown. However, if a facilities like housing, provision of basic services and other characteristics remain the same, then this growth has not been accompanied by development. Can you think of a few more examples to differentiate between growth and development? Write a short essay or draw a set of pictures illustrating growth without development and growth with development. For many decades, a country’s level of development was measured only in terms of its  Band Aceh, June, 2004 Band Aceh, December, 2004 Do you know that cities can also grow negatively? Look at the photographs of this tsunami affected city. Are natural disasters the only reasons for negative growth in a city’s size? economic growth. This meant that the bigger The concept of human development was the economy of the country, the more developed introduced by Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq. Dr Haq has it was considered, even though this growth did described human development as development not really mean much change in the lives of most that enlarges people’s choices and improves people. their lives. People are central to all development The idea that the quality of life people enjoy under this concept. These choices are not fixed in a country, the opportunities they have and but keep on changing. The basic goal of freedoms they enjoy, are important aspects of development is to create conditions where development, is not new. people can live meaningful lives. These ideas were clearly spelt out for the A meaningful life is not just a long one. It first time in the late eighties and early nineties. must be a life with some purpose. This means The works of two South Asian economists, that people must be healthy, be able to develop Mahbub-ul-Haq and Amartya Sen are their talents, participate in society and be free important in this regard. to achieve their goals. Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq and Prof Amartya Sen were close friends and have worked together under the leadership of Dr Haq to bring out the initial Human Development Reports. Both these South Asian economists have been able to provide an alternative view of development. A man of vision and compassion, Pakistani economist Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq created the Human Development Index in 1990. According to him, development is all about enlarging people’s choices in order to lead long, healthy lives with dignity. The United Nations Development Programme has used his concept of human development to publish the Human Development Report annually since 1990. Dr Haq’s flexibility of mind and ability to think out of the box can be illustrated from one of his speeches where he quoted Shaw saying, “‘You see things that are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?’ Nobel Laureate Prof Amartya Sen saw an increase in freedom (or decrease in unfreedom) as the main objective of development. Interestingly, increasing freedoms is also one of the most effective ways of bringing about development. His work explores the role of social and political institutions and processes in increasing freedom. The works of these economists are path breaking and have succeeded in bringing people to the centre of any discussion on development. Human Development 23  h is a Meaningful What M i f l Life? e? ic of these Which h iv is a m lives a n meaningful if life? Who do you think leads more meaningful life? What makes one of these more meaningful than the other? 24 Fundamentals of Human Geography  Leading a long and healthy life, being able For example, in any country, it is interesting to gain knowledge and having enough means to see which group the most of the school to be able to live a decent life are the most dropouts belong to. This should then lead to an important aspects of human development. understanding of the reasons for such behaviour. Therefore, access to resources, health and In India, a large number of women and persons education are the key areas in human belonging to socially and economically development. Suitable indicators have been backward groups drop out of school. This shows developed to measure each of these aspects. Can how the choices of these groups get limited by you think of some? not having access to knowledge. Very often, people do not have the Sustainability means continuity in the capability and freedom to make even basic availability of opportunities. To have choices. This may be due to their inability to sustainable human development, each acquire knowledge, their material poverty, generation must have the same opportunities. social discrimination, inefficiency of institutions All environmental, financial and human resources must be used keeping in mind the and other reasons. This prevents them from future. Misuse of any of these resources will leading healthy lives, being able to get educated lead to fewer opportunities for future or to have the means to live a decent life. generations. Building people’s capabilities in the areas A good example is about the importance of health, education and access to resources is of sending girls to school. If a community does therefore, important in enlarging their choices. not stress the importance of sending its girl If people do not have capabilities in these areas, children to school, many opportunities will be their choices also get limited. lost to these young women when they grow up. For example, an uneducated child cannot Their career choices will be severely curtailed make the choice to be a doctor because her and this would affect other aspects of their lives. choice has got limited by her lack of education. So each generation must ensure the availability Similarly, very often poor people cannot choose of choices and opportunities to its future to take medical treatment for disease because generations. their choice is limited by their lack of resources. Productivity here means human labour productivity or productivity in terms of human work. Such productivity must be constantly enriched by building capabilities in people. Ultimately, it is people who are the real wealth Enact a five-minute play with your classmates showing of nations. Therefore, efforts to increase their how choices are limited due to lack of capability in the knowledge, or provide better health facilities areas of either income, education or health. ultimately leads to better work efficiency. Empowerment means to have the power THE FOUR PILLARS OF HUMAN to make choices. Such power comes from DEVELOPMENT increasing freedom and capability. Good governance and people-oriented policies are Just as any building is supported by pillars, required to empower people. The empowerment the idea of human development is supported of socially and economically disadvantaged by the concepts of equity, sustainability, groups is of special importance. productivity and empowerment. Equity refers to making equal access to opportunities available to everybody. The opportunities available to people must be equal Talk to the vegetable vendor in your neighbourhood and irrespective of their gender, race, income and find out if she has gone to school. Did she drop out of in the Indian case, caste. Yet this is very often school? Why? What does this tell you about her choices not the case and happens in almost every and the freedom she has? Note how her opportunities society. were limited because of her gender, caste and income. Human Development 25 APPROACHES TO HUMAN write and the number of children enrolled in DEVELOPMENT schools show how easy or difficult it is to access knowledge in a particular country. There are many ways of looking at the problem Access to resources is measured in terms of human development. Some of the important of purchasing power (in U.S. dollars). approaches are: (a) The income approach; (b) The Each of thes