UPSSSC PET · Bite-size lessons
Demographics & Migration
About 7 min · Geography · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 484 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Demographics and migration constitute a vital intersection of geography, economics, and public policy — topics that appear in UPSSSC PET. Questions test your grasp of India's census data (population, growth, literacy, sex ratio), state-level variations, and migration trends. Understanding these concepts helps you interpret data-based questions and connect demographic patterns to development policies.
Key ideas
- Census Operations: Conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Two phases — house-listing (administrative data) and population enumeration (demographic details). Census data informs parliamentary delimitation, fund allocation, and planning.
- Decadal Growth Rate: Percentage change in population over 10 years. Formula: [(Population in current census – Population in previous census) / Population in previous census] × 100. India's decadal growth rate declined from 21.54% (1991–2001) to 17.64% (2001–2011), indicating demographic transition.
- Sex Ratio: Number of females per 1,000 males. India's overall sex ratio improved from 933 (2001) to 943 (2011). Child sex ratio (0–6 years) worsened from 927 to 918, reflecting gender bias and female foeticide despite the PCPNDT Act.
- Literacy Rate: Percentage of population aged 7 years and above who can read and write with understanding in any language. India's literacy rose from 64.8% (2001) to 74.0% (2011). Male literacy 82.1%, female literacy 65.5% — the gender gap narrowed but persists.
- Density of Population: Persons per square kilometre. India's density increased from 325 (2001) to 382 (2011). Bihar (1,102) and West Bengal (1,029) are most dense; Arunachal Pradesh (17) least dense. Uttar Pradesh density: 828 per sq km.
Watch out for
- Confusing sex ratio with gender ratio: Sex ratio uses females per 1,000 males. Don't invert or use percentage. Wrong: "Sex ratio is 48%." Correct: "Sex ratio is 943 per 1,000 males."
- Mixing overall and child sex ratio: Child sex ratio (0–6 age group) is consistently lower than overall sex ratio due to gender bias. Don't quote overall ratio when question asks child ratio. Check which census figure the question specifies.
- Ignoring census year: Always note the census year. Using 2001 data when 2011 is expected (or vice versa) loses marks. Census 2011 is current baseline; 2021 data not yet released.
Quick reference
- Census 2011: India population 121 crore; growth rate 17.64%; sex ratio 943; literacy 74%.
- Uttar Pradesh 2011: Population 19.96 crore; sex ratio 912; literacy 69.7%; density 828/sq km.
- Top 5 populous states: UP, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh.
- Kerala leads: Highest literacy (93.9%), highest sex ratio (1,084).
- Migration streams: Rural-to-rural > rural-to-urban > urban-to-urban > urban-to-rural.
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. According to Census 2011, what is the sex ratio (number of females per 1000 males) in India?
2. Which state in India has recorded the highest decadal population growth rate during Census 2001-2011?
3. Internal migration in India is primarily characterized by which pattern?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 17 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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