NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography Chapter 2 The World Population Distribution, Density and Growth
Chapter 2 The World Population Distribution, Density and Growth NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography can be used to enrich knowledge and make lessons for learners more exciting. Through these NCERT Solutions, students should adopt a strategy that helps them operate and learn at maximum efficiency. Revision Notes for Chapter 2 The World Population Distribution, Density and Growth Class 12 Geography will help you in getting the crux of the chapter.
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography Chapter 2 The World Population Distribution, Density and Growth
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
(b) South America
(c) Asia
(d) North America
► (a) Africa
(ii) Which one of the following is not an area of sparse population?
(a) The Atacama
(b) South-east Asia
(c) Equatorial region
(d) Polar regions
► (c) Equatorial region
(iii) Which one of the following is not a push factor ?
(a) Water shortage
(c) Unemployment
(b) Medical/educational facilities
(d) Epidemics
► (b) Medical/educational facilities
(iv) Which one of the following is not a fact ?
(a) Human population increased more than ten times during the past 500 years.
(b) It took 100 years for the population to rise from 5 billion to 6 billion.
(c) Population growth is high in the first stage of demographic transition?
► (c) 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.
Answer
• Availability of water: It is the most important factor of life. So, people prefer to live in areas where fresh water is readily available. Water is essential in development of agriculture and carrying out day-to-day activities.
• Land forms: People prefer to live in flat plains and gentle slopes as they are favorable for the production of crops and in building roads and industries.
• Climate: People prefer to live in the areas with a comfortable climate, where there is not much seasonal variation and adequate rainfall. Areas with very heavy rainfall or extreme and harsh climates have low population.
• Soils: Fertile soils are important for agricultural and allied activities. Therefore, areas which have fertile loamy soils, have more people living on them as they can support intensive agriculture.
(ii) There are a number of areas with high population density in the world. Why does this happen?
Answer
The areas having favourable physical and economical factors tends to have high population density in the world. The areas population growth is high became regions of thick population density. For example, the regions with availability of water, adequate climatic conditions, presence of minerals, urbanisation and of cultural significance became regions of thick population. Some examples are Ganga plains, Mediterranean regions.
(iii) What are the three components of population change?
Answer
The three components of population change are:
• Crude Birth Rate (CBR): It is expressed as number of live births in a year per thousand of population in a particular region.
• Crude Death Rate (CDR): It is the number of deaths in a place per thousand of population in a particular region. CBR and CDR are natural factors of population growth. They result in natural population growth, which is equal to the difference between CBR and CDR.
• Migration: It is the induced factor in population growth. It is the number of people moving in and out of a place due to various social, economic and political reasons. It is taken into account while calculating actual growth of population.
3. Distinguish between:
(i) Birth rate and death rate.
(ii) Push factors and pull factors of migration.
Answer
(i)
| Birth Rate | Death Rate |
|---|---|
| The number of live births per thousand of population during a year for a particular region. | The number of deaths per thousand of population during a year for a particular region. |
| It is calculated using the following formula: CBR = Bi/P x 1OOO Here, CBR = crude birth rate, Bi = Number of live births in a year, P = the estimated midyear population of that year. |
It is calculated using the following formula: CDR= D/P xlOOO Here, CDR = crude death rate, D = Number of deaths in a year, P = the estimated midyear population of that year. |
| A high birth rate shows an increasing population. | When death rate is higher than birth rate, it shows a declining population. |
(ii)
| Push Factors | Pull Factors |
|---|---|
| These factors are the ones which makes a place less attractive for human settlement. | These factors are the ones which makes a place an attractive destination for settlement. |
| These factors forces people to leave place of origin hence face emigration. |
These factors force inflow of people hence face immigration. |
| Examples: Unemployment, poor living conditions, political turmoil, unpleasant climate, natural disasters, epidemics and socio-economic backwardness. | Examples: Better job opportunities, better living conditions, peace and stability, security of life and property and pleasant climate. |
3. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Discuss the factors influencing the distribution and density of population in the world.
Answer
There are three factors influencing the distribution and density of population in the world: geographical factors, economic factors and social and cultural factors:
Geographical Factors:
• Availability of water: It is the most important factor of life. So, people prefer to live in areas where fresh water is readily available. Water is essential in development of agriculture and carrying out day-to-day activities.
• Land forms: People prefer to live in flat plains and gentle slopes as they are favorable for the production of crops and in building roads and industries.
• Climate: People prefer to live in the areas with a comfortable climate, where there is not much seasonal variation and adequate rainfall. Areas with very heavy rainfall or extreme and harsh climates have low population.
• Soils: Fertile soils are important for agricultural and allied activities. Therefore, areas which have fertile loamy soils, have more people living on them as they can support intensive agriculture.
Economic Factors:
• Minerals: Areas rich in minerals attract industries. Mining and allied activities generate employment. Skilled and semi skilled workers move to these areas and make them densely populated. Eg. Katanga Zambia copper belt in Africa.
• Industrialization: Industrial belts provide job opportunities and attract large numbers of people. These include not only factory workers but also transport operators, shopkeepers, doctors and other professionals. Example; The Kobe- Osaka industrial region of Japan.
• Urbanization: Better employment opportunities, educational and medical facilities, better means of transport and communication attract people to cities. It leads to rural-urban migration and hence cities grow in size. Eg. a large number of people move to cities like .Delhi, Mumbai, etc. and hence make them densely populated.
Social and cultural factors
Some places attract more people because they have religious or cultural significance. In the same way, people tend to move away from places where there is social and political unrest. Example; emigration of people from civil war affected areas of Africa. Many a times government offers incentives to people to live in sparsely populated areas. Example; Indira Gandhi canal colonies.
(ii) Discuss the three stages of demographic transition.
Answer
Demographic transition theory can be used to describe and predict the future population of any area. The theory tells us that the population of any region changes from high births and high deaths to low births and low deaths as a society progresses from rural, agrarian and illiterate to urban, industrial and literate society. These changes occur in stages, which are collectively known as the demographic cycle.
The first stage has high fertility and high mortality rates because people reproduce more to compensate for the deaths due to epidemics and variable food supply. Population growth is slow and most people are engaged in agriculture where large families are an asset. Life expectancy is low; people are mostly illiterate and have low levels of technology. Two hundred years ago all the countries were in this stage.
In the second stage, fertility remains high in the beginning, but it declines with time. This is accompanied by reduced mortality rate. Improvements in sanitation and health conditions lead to decline in mortality. Because of this gap the net addition to population is high. This results in population explosion. Eg. Countries like India.
In the last stage, both fertility and mortality decline considerably. The population is either stable or grows slowly. The population becomes urbanized, literate and has high technical know how and deliberately controls the family size. Some countries even face negative growth of population, E.g., many Western European countries.
Map Skills
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 percent. (You may refer to Appendix 1).
Answer
