NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography Chapter 3 Population Composition
Chapter 3 Population Composition Class 12 Geography NCERT Solutions are prepared by our experts that try to provide all round clarity of questions. These NCERT Solutions will become your comprehensive guide in easy learning and evaluating yourself. Chapter 3 Population Composition Class 12 Geography Notes will make entire memorizing process effortless and entertaining.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography Chapter 3 Population Composition
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
► (a) Selective migration of male working population
(ii) Which one of the following figures represents the working age group of the population?
(a) 15 to 65 years
(b) 15 to 64 years
(c) 15 to 66 years
(d) 15 to 59 years
► (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
► (a) Latvia
2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) What do you understand by population composition?
Answer
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 may be termed as its population composition.
(ii) What is the significance of age-structure?
Answer
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 15-59 indicates a large working population. A greater proportion of population above 60 years represents an ageing 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 the population is youthful.
(iii) How is sex-ratio measured?
Answer
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/Female Population× 1000
or the number of males per thousand females.
In India, the sex ratio is worked out using the formula:
Female Population/Male Population × 1000
or the number of females per thousand males.
3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words.
(i) Describe the rural-urban composition of the population.
Answer
The division of population into rural and urban is based on the residence. This division is necessary because rural and urban life styles 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, industrialization 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 whereas in 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 security and availability of jobs women move out to urban areas. Farming is mostly mechanized there hence men tend 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 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.
Answer
There are various factors responsible for imbalances in the sex-age found in different parts of the world:
• Sex ratio is unfavourable where female foeticide, female infanticide and domestic violence against women is prevalent.
• Lower socio-economic status of women.
Occupational structure
The working population (15-59 years) takes part in various occupations such as agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, construction, transport, services etc. These are grouped with primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary occupations.
(i) These differ in different countries due to level of economic development.
(ii) Primitive economies have more of the people engaged in Primary occupations.
(iii) Developed economies with industries and infrastructure have more people in secondary and tertiary activities.