Urbanisation

Also called: Level of urbanisation · Topic: Human Settlements and Urbanisation in India · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition"; Class 12, Ch 2 "Human Settlements"

Meaning

Urbanisation, also called the level of urbanisation, is the share of a country's total population that lives in urban areas (towns and cities), written as a percentage. Census 2011 put India's level at 31.16% (provisional; final 31.14%). This means about 31 of every 100 Indians lived in towns or cities.

It matters for two reasons:

• It shows how far a country has moved from farm-based village life to town-based jobs and services.
• India's level is still low, but its urban numbers are huge. So it must plan housing, water and transport early.

Explanation

Level is not the same as rate

• Level of urbanisation asks one question: what share of the population is urban?
• India: 10.84% (1901) → 17.29% (1951) → 23.34% (1981) → 27.78% (2001) → 31.16% (2011).

• The urban share rose by 3.35 percentage points in 2001–11 [2].

• Rate of urbanisation (decadal urban growth) asks a different question: how fast did the urban population grow in ten years?

• The peak was 46.14% in 1971–81. Growth has slowed since then.

• 2001–11: 31.8% [2] (NCERT gives 31.08%).

• Size: the urban population grew about elevenfold in the 20th century. Census 2011 counted about 37.7 crore urban people out of a total of 121.02 crore [2].

What counts as "urban" (Census definition)

• Statutory town: a place with a legal urban local body, such as a municipal corporation, municipality, cantonment board or notified town area committee.

• Statutory towns rose from 3,799 (2001) to 4,041 (2011) [2].

• Census town: a place with no urban local body that passes all three tests:

• a population of at least 5,000;
• at least 75% of male main workers working outside farming;

• a density of at least 400 persons per sq km.

• Why the definition matters: if the rules change, the level changes too.

• Census 1961 used a stricter definition. Many small places that had counted as towns were now counted as villages, so the number of towns fell.

Components of urban growth (where new urban people come from)

Component	Meaning	How it adds urban people
Natural increase	Urban births minus urban deaths	Town families grow in size
Net in-migration	People moving into towns minus people moving out	Village people move to towns for jobs and education
Reclassification	A village grows enough to pass the census-town tests, or a city widens its boundary to take in nearby villages	The same people are now counted as urban, even though they have not moved

• Migration's share: NCERT says rural-urban migration gave about 29% of urban growth since 1961. Most of the rest came from natural increase and reclassification.
• Reclassification, 2001–11: 2,532 new census towns appeared, along with 242 new statutory towns, making 2,774 new towns in all [2].
• Turning point, 2001–11: for the first time since Independence, the urban population grew by more people (about 9.1 crore) than the rural population did.
• Rural growth was slowing.
• Urban growth stayed high.
• So most of India's added population now goes to towns.

Why the trend rose and dipped

• 1911 dip (10.29%):
• Plague and famine killed many town dwellers.
• Many others fled to villages.

• Urban growth fell almost to zero (0.03%), and the urban share dropped.

• Rise after 1951:

• After Partition, refugees settled in towns.

• Planned industrial towns grew under the Five-Year Plans.

• Long history, low share: towns such as Varanasi, Prayagraj, Pataliputra and Madurai are more than 2,000 years old. Even so, the urban share stayed low until the 20th century.

Where it occurs

• Most urbanised states (Census 2011): Goa (62.2%), then Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.
• Least urbanised states: Himachal Pradesh (10.0%), Bihar (11.3%), Assam and Odisha.
• Union Territories: Delhi (97.5%) and Chandigarh (97.3%) are almost fully urban.
• Largest absolute urban population: Maharashtra, then Uttar Pradesh.
• Why the western and southern states are more urban:
• They got industry, ports and service jobs early.
• People moved in for work, so towns grew.

• Urban corridors (chains of joined cities along transport routes) formed here: Mumbai–Pune, Delhi–NCR and Chennai–Bengaluru.

• Why other regions are less urban:

• Ganga plain (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh): fertile land supports dense farming villages, and there is little industry.

• Hill states (Himachal Pradesh, the hill areas of Assam): steep slopes and scattered villages make it hard for big towns to form.

• Million-plus cities / urban agglomerations (a city together with its joined suburbs): rose from 35 (2001) to 53 (2011) [2].

• The world:
• The world was 55% urban in 2018, and this is projected to reach 68% by 2050 [3].
• About 2.5 billion more people may live in urban areas by 2050, and close to 90% of this increase will be in Asia and Africa [3].
• India's level is low next to developed countries. But its absolute urban population is second only to China's.
• Projected urban additions, 2018–2050: India 416 million (the most of any country), China 255 million and Nigeria 189 million. Together, these three make up 35% of world urban growth [3].

Don't confuse with

• Rate of urbanisation (decadal urban growth) measures how fast the urban population grows in a decade, not its share of the total. The level rose steadily, but the rate peaked in 1971–81 (46.14%) and then slowed.
• A statutory town has a legal urban local body. A census town has none, is still run under State Panchayat Acts, and often lacks tap water, sewerage and public transport [2].
• Urban share vs absolute urban population: these give different rankings. Mizoram ranks high in urban share, while Uttar Pradesh ranks high in urban numbers.
• Reclassification vs migration: reclassification makes people "urban" without moving them, because their village has changed. Migration means people actually move from villages to towns.

Prelims Hooks

• Level of urbanisation, Census 2011: 31.16% (provisional; final 31.14%), about 37.7 crore urban people [2].
• Highest decadal urban growth: 1971–81 (46.14%). It is not 1951 or 2001–11.
• 1911 dip = plague and famine. 1961 fall in the number of towns = stricter definition of "urban".
• Census town tests: 5,000 population + 75% of male main workers outside farming + density of 400/sq km.
• 2001–11: 2,532 new census towns and 242 new statutory towns. Million-plus cities went from 35 to 53 [2].
• Most urbanised state: Goa (62.2%). Least: Himachal Pradesh (10.0%), then Bihar (11.3%). Most urbanised UT: Delhi (97.5%). Largest urban population: Maharashtra.

Mains Points

• India is urbanising late but at a huge scale.
• Its urban share (about 31% in 2011) is low next to the world's (55% in 2018).
• Yet India will add 416 million urban people by 2050 [3].

• So housing, water and transport must be planned ahead of this growth.

• Many places are urban only in the Census, not in how they are run ("hidden urbanisation").

• Reclassification produced 2,532 census towns in 2001–11. These are still run by panchayats and lack urban services [2].
• Policy has started to respond. Smart Cities Mission (100 cities) and AMRUT (500 cities holding about 60% of urban population) were both launched on 25 June 2015. AMRUT 2.0 (1 October 2021) aims for universal water supply in all statutory towns, about 4,902 of them [4].

• Census 2027 (reference date 1 March 2027) will give the first new level of urbanisation since 2011 [5].

• Urbanisation is uneven across regions.

• Goa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, and corridors such as Mumbai–Pune and Chennai–Bengaluru, are highly urban.
• Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh lag behind.
• This gap follows differences in industry, jobs and migration, so balanced regional development is needed.

Related concepts

• Components of urban growth

Read more

• Urbanisation in India: level, trends and components