Chapter 3: Population Composition - Questions/Answers | NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography (Fundamentals of Human Geography)

Explore the solutions for Chapter 3: 'Population Composition' of Class 12 NCERT Geography (Fundamentals of Human Geography) at MapsofIndia.com.

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below:
(i) Which one of the following has caused the sex ratio of the United Arab Emirates to be low?
(a) Selective migration of male working population
(b) High birth rate of males
(c) Low birth rate of females
(d) High out migration of females

Answer: (a) Selective migration of male working population

(ii) Which one of the following figures represents the working age group of the population? (in years)
(a) 15-65 years
(b) 15-54 years
(c) 15-66 years
(d) 15-59 years

Answer: (d) 15-59 years

(iii) Which one of the following countries has the highest sex ratio in the world?
(a) Latvia
(b) United Arab Emirates
(c) Japan
(d) France

Answer: (a) Latvia

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words:
(i) What do you understand by population composition?

Answer: People of any country are diverse in many respects. Each person is unique in his own way. People can be distinguished by their age, sex and their place of residence. The entire gamut of people residing in a particular place along with their growth, distribution and variety may be termed as its population composition.

(ii) What is the significance of age-structure?

Answer: Age structure represents the number of people of different age groups. This is an important indicator of population composition, since a large size of population in the age group of 15-59 indicates a large working population. A greater proportion of population above 60 years represents an ageing population which requires more expenditure on health care facilities. Similarly high proportion of young population would mean that the region has a high birth rate and the population is youthful.

(iii) How is sex ratio measured?

Answer: Sex ratio in the world is calculated as number of males per thousand of females in a population.
Sex ratio = (No. of males)/(No. of females) × lOOO
In countries like India sex ratio is calculated as number of females per thousand of males.
Sex ratio = (No. of females)/ (No. of males) × 1000

3. Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words:
(i) Describe the rural-urban composition of the population.

Answer: The division of population into rural and urban is based on the residence. This division is necessary because rural and urban life styles differ from each other in terms of livelihood and social conditions. The age-sex-occupational structure, density of population and level of development vary between rural and urban population is also dependent on the state of development of a countiy.
The more progressed a country is with respect to its development, more number of people are engaged in non-primary activities, thus leading to shift from rural areas to urban areas. Moreover, industrialization also makes headway into the rural countryside, constructing new towns in hitherto traditionally agrarian areas, and therefore the population that was originally rural, becomes urban now. The criterion for classifying settlement as rural or urban varies from country to country. In general terms in rural areas more people are engaged in primary activities whereas in urban areas majority of population is associated with secondary or tertiary sectors.
The sex composition of rural and urban settlements varies between developed and developing countries. In the developed countries like the Western European nation due to security and availability of jobs women move out to urban areas. Farming is mostly mechanized there hence men tend to stay in rural areas and look after farming activities. Whereas a completely contrary picture can be seen in developing countries like India where due to lack of security, housing, job opportunities females tend to stay back in rural areas and look after farming whereas male members move out to urban areas in search of working opportunities,

(ii) Discuss the factors responsible for imbalances in the sex-age found in different parts of the world and occupational structure.

Answer: The factors responsible for imbalances in the sex-age found in different parts of the world with focus on occupational structure are as follows:
The working population (in the age group of 15-59) takes part in various occupations ranging from agriculture, forestry, fishing, manufacturing, construction, commercial transport, services, communication and other unclassified services, being employed in the four sectors of the economy. That work force is a clear indicator of the level of development, particularly economic and social development. This is because only a developed economy with industries and infrastructure can accommodate more workers in the secondary, tertiary and quaternary sector. If the economy is still in the primitive stages, then the proportion of people engaged in primary activities would be high as it involves extraction of natural resources. Moreover, the age structure of a country also is an indicator of the level of development. A large working population shows the progress of a nation, and a large dependent population of children and retired citizens show a burden on the economy of the country, dragging its developmental processes down. A higher participation of women in the secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors also is a strong indicator of the progress of a nation. The sex composition of rural and urban settlements varies between developed and developing countries. In the developed countries like the Western European nation due to security and availability of jobs women move out to urban areas. Farming there is mostly mechanized hence men tend to stay in rural areas and look after farming activities. Whereas a completely contrary picture can be seen in developing countries like India where due to lack of security, housing, job opportunities, females tend to stay back in rural areas and look after farming whereas male members move out to urban areas in search of working opportunities.

Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What is the average sex ratio of the world?

Answer: Average sex ratio of the world is 102 males per 100 females.

Question 2. Define sex ratio.

Answer: It is the ratio between the number of women and men in the population of a country.

Question 3. Which regions have unfavorable sex ratio towards women?

Answer: In region where gender discrimination is rampant and where practice of female foeticide, infanticide and domestic violence against women are prevalent have unfavorable sex ratio towards women.

Question 4. Which country has the highest sex ratio in the world?

Answer: Latvia with 85 males per 100 females has the highest sex ratio in the world.

Question 5. Name the country with lowest sex ratio in the world.

Answer: Qatar has the lowest sex ratio with 311 males per 100 females.

Question 6. Why have many European countries have deficit males?

Answer: Many European countries have deficit of males because of better status of females and male-dominanted out migration to different parts of the world.

Question 7. Define age structure.

Answer: Age structure represents number of people of different age groups.

Question 8. What does age-sex pyramid defines?

Answer: The age-sex structure of a population refers to the number of males and females in different age groups. Population
pyramid is used to show age-sex structure of the population.

Question 9. What do you mean by ageing population?

Answer: Population ageing is a process by which the -share of the older population becomes proportionately larger. In most of the developed countries it has increased due to increased life expectancy.

Question 10. Divide population based on the place of residence.

Answer: Based on the place of residence population is divided into rural and urban.

Question 11. What does literacy rate denote for India?

Answer: In India literacy rate denotes the percentage of population above 7 years of age, who is able to read, write and have the ability to do arithmetic calculation with understanding.