Distribution of population in India
Topic: Population of India: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition"
Meaning
Distribution of population means how people are spread across the land. In India this spread is very uneven. In Census 2011, Uttar Pradesh had the most people, followed by Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal. These four, together with Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat, held about 76% of all Indians. Some big states hold only a tiny share: Jammu and Kashmir (1.04%), Uttarakhand (0.84%) and Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%). This pattern matters because it decides where pressure falls on land, water, jobs and services.
Example
Arunachal Pradesh is a large state in the eastern Himalayas, but it held only 0.11% of India's people in 2011. Bihar is a much smaller state in the middle Ganga plain, yet it is one of the four most populous states.
Don't confuse with
- Density of population: distribution tells you where people live and what share each area has. Density tells you how many people live on each square kilometre.