3. Population Composition

 NCERT Questions:

1. Choose the right answer from the 4 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 rates of males

c) Low birth rate of mails

d) High out migration of females

Ans. a) Selective migration of male working population

(ii) Which one of the following figures represent the working age group of the population?

a) 15 to 65 years

b) 15 to 66 years

c) 15 to 64 years

d) 15 to 59 years

Ans. d) 15 to 59 years

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

a) Latvia

b) United Arab Emirates

c) Japan

d) France

Ans. a) Latvia

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words

(i) What do you understand by population composition?

Ans. People of any country are diverse in many respects. Each person is unique in his own way. People can be distinguished by their age, sex and their place of residence. The entire gamut of people residing in a particular place along with their growth, distribution and variety may be termed as its population composition.

(ii) What is the significance of age structure?

Ans. Age structure represents the number of people of different age groups. This is an important indicator of population composition since a large size of population in the age group of 15 to 59 indicates a large working population. A greater proportion of population above 60 years represents an aging population, which requires more expenditure on health care facilities. Similarly, high proportion of young population would mean that the region has a high birth rate and a population is youthful.

(iii) How is sex ratio measured?

Ans. Sex ratio in the world is calculated as number of males per 1000 of females in a population.

Sex ratio =      Number of mails × 1000.

Upon number of females

In countries like India, sex ratio is calculated as Number of females per 1000 of males.

Sex ratio =      Number of females × 1000

Upon number of mails

3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words

(i) Describe the rural urban composition of the population.

Ans. The division of population into rural and urban is based on the residence. This division is necessary because rural and urban lifestyles differ from each other in terms of livelihood and social conditions. The age, sex, occupational structure, density of population and level of development vary between rural and urban. Population is also dependent on the state of development of a country.

The more progressed a country is with respect to its development, more number of people are engaged in non-primary activities. Thus leading to shift from rural areas to urban areas. Moreover, industrialisation also makes headway into the rural countryside, constructing new towns in hitherto traditionally agrarian areas, and therefore the population that was originally rural becomes urban now. The criterion for classifying settlement as rural or urban varies from country to country. In general terms, in rural areas more people are engaged in primary activities wherein urban areas majority of population is associated with secondary or tertiary sectors.

The sex composition of rural and urban settlements varies between developed and developing countries. In the developed countries like the Western European nation, due to scarcity and availability of jobs, women move out to the urban areas. Farming is mostly mechanised there, hence men tend to stay in rural areas and look after farming activities. On the other hand contrary picture can be seen in developing countries like India where due to lack of security, housing, job opportunities, females tend to stay back in rural areas and look after farming whereas male members move out to urban areas in search of working opportunities.

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

Ans. The factors responsible for imbalances in sex, age structure found in different parts of the world with focus on occupational structure are as follows:

The working population in the age group of 15 to 59 takes part in various occupation ranging from agriculture, forestry, fishing, manufacturing, construction, commercial transport services, communication and other unclassified services being employed in the quaternary sector of the economy.

The workforce is a clear indicator of the level of development, particularly economic and social development. This is because only a developed economy with industries and infrastructure can accommodate more workers in the secondary, tertiary and quaternary sector. If the economy is still in the primitive stages, then the proportion of people engaged in primary activities would be high as it involves extraction of natural resources. Moreover, the age structure of a country also is an indicator of the level of development. A large working population shows the progress of a nation, and a large dependent population of children and retired citizens show a burden on the economy of the country dragging its developmental processes down. A higher participation of women in the secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors also is a strong indicator of the progress of a nation.

The sex composition of rural and urban settlements varies between developed and developing countries. In the developed countries like the Western European nation, due to security and availability of jobs, women move to urban areas farming there is mostly mechanised, men attempt to stay in rural areas and look after farming activities. Whereas a completely contrary picture can be seen in developing countries like India where due to lack of security, housing, job opportunities female stand to stay back in rural areas and look after farming, whereas male members move out to urban areas in search of working opportunities.

Question Bank:

Very short answer type questions:

1. What is the average sex ratio of the world?

Average sex ratio of the world is 102 males per 100 females.

2. Define sex ratio.

It is the ratio between the number of women and men in the population of a country.

3. Which age group forms the working population?

The age group from 15 to 59 years forms the working population.

4. Which country has the highest sex ratio in the world?

Latvia, with 85 males per 100 females, has the highest sex ratio in the world.

5. Name the country with the lowest sex ratio in the world.

Qatar has the lowest sex ratio with 311 males per 100 females.

6. Define age structure.

Age structure represents number of people of different age groups.

7. What does age sex pyramid defines?

The age sex structure of a population refers to the number of males and females in different age groups. Population pyramid is used to show its sex structure of the population.

8. Divide population based on the place of residence.

Based on the place of residence, population is divided into rural and urban.

9. What does literacy rate denote for India?

In India, literacy rate denotes the percentage of population above 7 years of age who is able to read, write and have the ability to do arithmetic calculation with understanding.

10. What do you mean by aging population?

Population aging is a process by which the share of the older population becomes proportionately larger.  In most of the developed countries it has increased due to increased life expectancy.

11. Why sex ratio in some European countries recorded favourable to females? Give reason.

In some European countries women have better socio economic status and excessively male dominated out migration to different parts of the world in the past.

12. Why many European countries have deficit males?

Many European countries have deficit of males because of better status of females and male dominated out migration to different parts of the world.

13. Which regions have unfavourable sex ratio towards women?

In region where gender discrimination is rampant and where practice of female foeticide. Infanticide and domestic violence against women are prevalent. Have unfavourable sex ratio towards women.

Short answer type questions:

1. What does the literacy rate of a country indicate?

Proportion of literate population of a country is an indicator of its socio economic development as it reveals the standard of living, social status of females, availability of educational facilities and policies of government. Level of economic development is both a cause and consequence of literacy.

2. Why unfavourable female sex ratio is found in India and other South Asian countries?

In India and other South Asian countries, female sex ratio is low due to.

a) Widespread gender discrimination

b) High mortality rate of female child during birth

c) Lower socio economic status of women

d) High female infant mortality due to negligence and lack of medical facilities

e) Preference to male child which results in high female foeticide and female infanticide

f) Domestic violence against women

3. In some countries of the world, the sex ratio is unfavourable to women. Give reason.

In some countries of the world, the sex ratio is unfavourable to women because these areas practice female foeticide and domestic violence against women are prevalent and also low socio economic status of women.

4. What do you mean by natural advantage and social disadvantage?

Females have a biological advantage over males as they tend to be more resilient than males. This is called natural advantage. Social disadvantage is that women are not preferred as a child in the society and people have a preference for a male child. The natural advantage is cancelled by the social disadvantage and discrimination against women.

5. What was the percentage of urban population in the world in 2023?

The percentage of urban population in the world in 2023 was 57%. North America as well as Latin America and the Caribbean were the regions with the highest level of urbanization, with over four fifth of population residing in urban areas.

6. Why the age structure is considered an important indicator of population composition? Give reason.

Age structure represents the number of people of different age groups. It helps in planning process and estimates future population and availability of resources.

Long answer type questions.

1. How does sex ratio give important information about 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. We must remember that more women in the population do not mean they have a better status. It could be that the men might have migrated to other areas for employment.

2. Describe the world pattern of sex ratio.

On an average, the world population reflects a sex ratio of 102 males per 100 females. The highest sex ratio in the world has been recorded in Latvia. Where there are 85 males per 100 females. In contrast, in Qatar there are 311 males per 100 females. The world pattern of sex ratio does not exhibit variation in the developed regions of the world. The sex ratio is favourable for females in 139 countries of the world and unfavourable for them in the remaining 72 countries listed by the United Nations in general. Asia has a low sex ratio. Countries like China, India, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan have a lower sex ratio. On the other extreme is greater part of Europe, including Russia, where males are in minority. A deficit of males in the populations of many European countries is attributed to better status of women and an excessive male dominated out migration to different parts of the world in the past.

3. How is the occupational structure a good indicator of levels of economic development of a nation?

The working population, that is, women and men of the age group 15 to 59 take part in various occupations ranging from agriculture, forestry, fishing, manufacturing, construction, commercial transport services, communication and other unclassified services. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and mining are classified as primary activities, manufacturing as secondary, transport, communication and other services as tertiary and the jobs related to research and developing ideas as quaternary activities.

The proportion of working population engaged in these four sectors is a good indicator of the levels of economic development of a nation. This is because only a developed economy with industries and infrastructure can accommodate more workers in the secondary, tertiary and quaternary sector. If the economy is still in the primitive stages, then the proportion of people engaged in primary activities is high as it involves extraction of natural resources.

4. What is the meaning of age structure of population? Describe in brief four main characteristics of age structure of the world population.

Age structure represents the number of people of different age groups. This is an important indicator of population composition. Following are the four characteristics of age structure or age composition of the world population:

a) Population Composition: The age group 0 to 15 is called young population. 15 to 59, age group is of working population and above 60 years represents an aging population which require more expenditure on healthcare facilities.

b) Age sex pyramid: The age sex structure of the population refers to the number of females and males in different age groups.

c) Expanding population: Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mexico, India and other developing and underdeveloped countries of the world is having the characteristics of expanding population which have triangular shaped pyramid with a wide base. These have larger population in lower age groups due to high birth rate.

d) Constant population: The developed countries like Australia have its sex pyramid of bell shaped and taper towards the top. It shows birth and death rates are almost equal leading to a near constant population.

e) Declining population: The developed countries having low birth and death rates come under this category which shows the pyramid of narrow base and a tapered top. The population growth in developed countries is usually zero or negative. Example Japan, Britain, France etc.

5. Describe the main characteristics each of the major groups of human occupations in the world.

The working population of a country between age group 15 to 59 years. Who take part in various occupations ranging from agriculture, forestry, fishing, manufacturing, commercial activities, transport services etc. is called occupational structure four major groups of occupations are:

a) Primary occupation: Depends fully on nature. Example – agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining etc.

b) Secondary occupation: People engaged in manufacturing. Example industries, manufacturing etc.

c) Tertiary sector: Service sectors, transport and communication, trade and commerce, teaching etc. comes under tertiary occupation.

d) Quaternary occupation: Jobs related to research and developing ideas etc. Example – computing consultancy etc.

The proportion of working population engaged in these four sectors is the indicator of the levels of economic development of a nation.

6. What is the impact of rural urban migration on the age and sex structure of the place of origin and destination?

Migration leads to distribution of population within a country. Rural urban migration is one of the important factors contributing to the population growth of cities.

Age and skill selective out migration from rural areas have adverse effect on rural demographic structure.

High out migration results in serious imbalance in age sex composition. Male population within the working age group migrate out of rural areas leaving female children and old aged people, which increase the share of dependent population in rural areas.

The situation is especially difficult for females because they have to look after both domestic and economic work in the villages leading to higher participation of women in agriculture without decrease in their household work load. Also, it leads to loss of human resources from the rural areas leaving them with unskilled people, thus reducing the total productivity and hence hampering the development of rural areas.

Urban areas receive heavy migration of working age male population causing sex ratio to be highly unfavourable for females, which gives rise to crimes against women and increases their vulnerability.

7. The shape of the population pyramid reflects the characteristic of the population. Support the statement with examples.

The shape of the population pyramid reflects the characteristics of the population. The left side shows the percentage of males, while the right side shows the percentage of women. In each age group, there are different types of population pyramids.

Expanding population: Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mexico, India and other developing and underdeveloped countries of the world is having the characteristics of expanding population which have triangular shaped pyramid with wide base. These have larger population in lower age groups due to high birth rate.

Constant population: The developed countries like Australia has age sex pyramid of bell shape and tapered towards the top. It shows birth and death rates are almost equal, leading to a near constant population.

Declining population: The developed countries having low birth and death rates come under this category, this shows the pyramid of narrow base and a tapered top. The population growth in developed countries is usually zero or negative. Example – Japan, Britain, France, etc.

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