Demographics challenges deal with patterns of population distribution, population growth, population density, and composition of the Indian population.

Under population distribution, we will study the pattern of the spatial distribution of the Indian population and also know the percentage of the population of every state and union territory.

Population density measures the relationship between humans and land. It gives population measurement in terms of persons per sq km. 

Demographic challenges

Primary Sector

• In China, only about 10 % of its total land area is cultivable
• More than 80% of the Chinese depended upon agriculture for livelihood till the 1980s 
• Since the Chinese government has encouraged people to pursue handicrafts, commerce and transport
• Today, in China, around 26% of the workforce is dependent upon agriculture, and its contribution to GVA is 7% 
• We know that in both India and Pakistan, the contribution of agriculture to GVA was 16 and 24%, respectively; the proportion of workforce dependent upon it is also 43 and 41%, respectively 
• Over the most recent fifty years, the development of the farming area, which utilizes the biggest extent of the labour force in every one of the three nations, has declined

Industrial Sector

• In India, China, and Pakistan, the contribution of Industry to GVA and the proportion of workforce engaged in it is 30, 19, and 41 percent respectively (contribution to GVA); 25, 24, 28 percent respectively (workforce engaged) 
• China has maintained a near double-digit growth rate in the 1980s in the industrial sector but began showing a reduction in the recent few years, whereas, for India and Pakistan growth rate has declined 

Service Sector

• In all three countries, the service sector contributes the highest share of GVA 
• Pakistan was faster in shifting its workforce to the service sector as compared to India and China
• The proportion of workforce engaged in the service sector in India, China, and Pakistan has reached 32, 46, and 35%, respectively 
• In the service sector, China was able to maintain its growth rate during 1980–1990, while there was a positive and increasing growth of India’s service sector output 

Thus, the manufacturing and service sectors contributed to the growth of China and India. During this period, Pakistan has shown a decline in all three sectors.

Population of India by State by Numbers 

• India’s population accounts for about 17.5 percent of the world’s population 
• India’s population as of the 2011 census:
  • Uttar Pradesh has the highest population among all the states of India and accounts for about 16 percent of the country’s population 
  • About 0.6 million people are living in Sikkim
  • Lakshadweep has only 64,429 people
• Rajasthan is the biggest state in terms of area and has only 5.5 percent of the total population of India

India’s Population Distribution by Density

• The population density is the number of people in each unit of area. India is one of the world’s highly populated countries 
• As of 2011, India had a population density of 382 individuals per square kilometre
• The population density in Arunachal Pradesh is only 17 persons per square kilometre, compared to 1,102 persons per square kilometre in Bihar
• A flat plain with fertile soils and abundant rainfall makes it possible for the northern plains and Kerala to have a high or very high population

Population Density 

• Population density is defined as the number of individuals per unit area. Population density is a better way of understanding patterns of population distribution in terms of land. The population density is calculated after every ten years in India 
• The data of 2011 shows that there are 382 persons per square km. India’s population density has risen steadily over the past 50 years, from 117 people per square kilometre in 1951 to 382 people per square kilometre in 2011
• The Northern Indian States with the highest population density: Bihar has the highest population density, followed by West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
• Indian peninsular states with the highest population density: Kerala, followed by Tamil Nadu
• The union territory with the highest population density is the National capital New Delhi with 11,297 persons per sq km
• Except for Assam, the Himalayan plains and northeast of India have low densities.
• For agriculturally populated countries like India, population densities are measured in accordance with physiological and agricultural densities. 
•  Physiological density = total population / net cultivated area
•  Agricultural density = total agricultural population / net cultivable area.

Conclusion 

The growth of the agriculture sector in all the three countries has declined, although it employs the largest proportion of the workforce. China has maintained a double-digit growth rate in the industrial sector. China was able to maintain its growth rate during the 1980-90s. India was also thriving for positive and increasing growth in the service sector. China has really made a massive contribution in the manufacturing and service sectors, and India shows positive growth in the service sector. But, Pakistan could not pace up in either of the three sectors.