👥 Indian Geography — Chapter 15

Population & Urbanization  |  SSC / Railway / UPSC / BPSC Exam Preparation  |  Exam Fusion Prep
📊 Census — Basic Facts
📋 Census — Constitutional Provisions
  • Definition: Official count, every 10 years
  • Responsibility: Central Government (Article 246)
  • List: Union List
  • Key Officer: Registrar General & Census Commissioner
  • 2011 Census = India's 15th Census (7th since Independence)
  • Census began: 1872 (irregularly — Lord Mayo)
  • Regular census began: 1881 (Lord Ripon)
📈 Census 2011 — Final Figures; 2011 Administrative Boundaries
1210.97 Crore
Total Population 2011
943
Sex Ratio (per 1000 males)
382
Population Density (per km²)
72.98%
Literacy Rate
17.64%
Decadal Growth Rate
13.6%
0–6 Age Group
👨 Male Population
  • Total: 62.33 crore / 623.27 million (51.47%)
  • Literacy: 80.88%
👩 Female Population
  • Total: 58.76 crore / 587.58 million (48.53%)
  • Literacy: 64.63%
🚨 EXAM TRAP
👥 Population Distribution — 2011
🔝 Top 5 — Highest Population States
Rank State Population (Crore) %
1 Uttar Pradesh 19.98 16.50%
2 Maharashtra 11.24 9.28%
3 Bihar ★ 10.41 8.60%
4 West Bengal 9.13 7.54%
5 Andhra Pradesh 8.46 6.99%
🔽 Top 5 — Lowest Population States
Rank State Population (Lakh)
1st (lowest) Sikkim 6.11
2nd Mizoram 10.97
3rd Arunachal Pradesh 13.84
4th Goa 14.59
5th Nagaland 19.79
📍 Bihar — Population Highlights
  • Bihar = 3rd most populous state in India (10.41 crore)
  • Bihar = 8.60% of India's population
  • Bihar = highest population density among states (1106/km²)
  • Bihar's growth = significant despite small area
BPSC KEY: Bihar = 3rd largest population (10.41 cr) BUT 1st highest density (1106/km²)
🚨 EXAM TRAP
🗺️ Population Density (2011)
🔝 Top 5 — Highest Density States
Rank State Density (per km²)
1st Bihar ★ 1,106
2nd West Bengal 1,028
3rd Kerala 860
4th Uttar Pradesh 829
5th Haryana 573
🔽 Top 5 — Lowest Density States
Rank State Density (per km²)
Lowest Arunachal Pradesh 17
2nd Mizoram 52
3rd Sikkim 86
4th Manipur 115
5th Nagaland 119
⚖️ Sex Ratio (2011) — Females per 1000 Males
🔝 Top 5 — Highest Sex Ratio States
Rank State Sex Ratio
1st Kerala 1,084
2nd Tamil Nadu 996
3rd Andhra Pradesh 993
4th Chhattisgarh 991
5th Meghalaya 989
🔽 Lowest Sex Ratio States
Rank State Sex Ratio
Lowest Haryana 879
2nd Jammu & Kashmir 889
3rd Sikkim 890
4th Punjab 895
5th Uttar Pradesh 912
⚡ QUICK RECALL — Density & Sex Ratio
🚨 EXAM TRAP
📚 Literacy (2011) — National Average: 72.98%
72.98%
National Literacy Rate
80.88%
Male Literacy
64.63%
Female Literacy
📗 Highest Literate States
Rank State Literacy %
1st Kerala 94%
2nd Mizoram 91.33%
3rd Goa 88.70%
📕 Lowest Literate States
Rank State Literacy %
Lowest Bihar ★ 61.80%
2nd Arunachal Pradesh 65.38%
3rd Rajasthan 66.11%
📗 Highest Literate UTs
Rank UT Literacy %
1st Lakshadweep 91.85%
2nd Daman & Diu 87.1%
3rd A&N Islands 86.63%
📕 Lowest Literate UTs
Rank UT Literacy %
Lowest Dadra & NH 76.24%
2nd Puducherry 85.85%
3rd Chandigarh 86.05%
📌 Religion-wise Literacy
Religion Literacy % Note
Jain 94.9% Highest literacy
Christian 84.5% —
Buddhist 81.3% —
Sikh 75.4% —
Hindu 73.3% —
Muslim 68.5% Lowest among major religions
  • Lowest literacy district in MP: Alirajpur (Female 30.29%, Male 42.02%, Overall 36.10%)
🚨 EXAM TRAP
🏙️ Urbanization — 2011
🏙️ Top 5 Urban Population States
Rank State Urban Population
1st Maharashtra 5.08 Crore
2nd Uttar Pradesh 4.45 Crore
3rd Tamil Nadu 3.49 Crore
4th West Bengal 2.91 Crore
5th Andhra Pradesh 2.82 Crore (undivided AP, 2011 boundaries)
📊 Urbanization % — Top States
Rank State Urban %
1st Goa 62.17%
2nd Mizoram 52.11%
3rd Tamil Nadu 48.45%
4th Kerala 47.72%
5th Maharashtra 45.23%
📊 Urbanization % — Top UTs
Rank UT Urban %
1st Delhi 97.5%
2nd Chandigarh 97.3%
3rd Lakshadweep 78.1%
4th Daman & Diu 75.2%
👥 SC & ST Population
  • SC Population: 20.14 crore (16.63%)
  • ST Population: 104.28 million (8.61%)
Highest SC % State:
  • Punjab (31.94%) → HP (25.2%) → WB (23.5%)
  • Smallest SC share among states reporting non-zero SC population: Mizoram (0.11%)
Highest ST % State:
  • Mizoram (94.44%) → Nagaland (86.46%) → Meghalaya (86.15%)
  • Top ST population states: MP, MH, Odisha, RJ, Gujarat
🕌 Religion-wise Census 2011
Religion Population (Crore) Growth % Sex Ratio Literacy %
Hindu 96.63 16.8% 939 73.3%
Muslim 17.22 24.6% (highest) 951 68.5%
Christian 2.78 15.5% 1023 84.5%
Sikh 2.08 8.4% 903 75.4%
Buddhist 0.84 6.1% 965 81.3%
Jain 0.45 5.4% (lowest) 954 94.9% (highest)
🚨 EXAM TRAP
📍 Bihar — Complete Population Profile
#3
Population (10.41 crore)
#1
Density (1106/km²)
Lowest
Literacy (61.80%)
8.60%
Share of India's population
📚 Bihar — Literacy Lowest in India!
  • Bihar literacy = 61.80% — lowest among all states
  • National avg = 72.98% — Bihar is 11.18 percentage points below national avg
  • Female literacy especially low in rural Bihar
  • Better than: only if compared to some districts
🚨 KEY FACT
Bihar = lowest literate state (61.80%) | This is asked in almost every BPSC exam!
👥 Bihar — Density Record
  • Bihar = most densely populated state in India (1106/km²)
  • WB = 2nd (1028/km²) — very close to Bihar
  • Bihar = small state geographically but massive population
  • Northern Bihar (flood plains) = extremely high density
  • Reason: flat alluvial soil = agricultural + settlement
⚖️ Bihar — Sex Ratio
  • Bihar sex ratio = 918 females per 1,000 males (2011) — below national 943
  • National avg = 943
  • UP = 912 (low) | Kerala = 1084 (high)
  • Bihar improving but female literacy gap = challenge
🕌 Bihar — Religion & SC/ST
  • Bihar SC communities include Chamar, Musahar and Dusadh/Paswan
  • Bihar SC major communities: Chamar, Musahar, Dusadh, Paswan
  • Bihar has a relatively low Scheduled Tribe population share compared with neighbouring Jharkhand.
  • Muslim population in Bihar = significant (around 16-17%)
⚡ BPSC MASTER RECALL — Bihar Population
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