Geography Quiz: Population and Census of India

The correct answer is D, Haryana. In Census 2011 Haryana recorded a sex ratio of 879 females per 1,000 males, the lowest among all the states of India, against the national figure of 943; among the union territories the lowest was Daman and Diu. Option A is wrong because Maharashtra recorded a sex ratio of about 929, below the national average but well above Haryana. Option B is wrong because Rajasthan recorded about 928, again higher than Haryana despite a similarly adverse child sex ratio. Option C is wrong because Bihar recorded about 918, which is low but still above the Haryana figure; Bihar is remembered instead for the highest density of population, 1,106 persons per square kilometre. Learn the pair together: Kerala highest at 1,084 and Haryana lowest at 879, and read the question to see whether it asks about states or union territories.

The correct answer is B, 1881. The census of 1881, taken during the viceroyalty of Lord Ripon, was the first in which the whole country was enumerated with reference to a single date, and from that year the census has been held every ten years without a break. Option A is wrong, and is the usual trap, because 1872 was the year of the first census attempt, made under Lord Mayo, but it was conducted in different provinces at different times and so was not synchronous. Option C is wrong because 1891 was simply the next decennial round after 1881 and marks no first. Option D is wrong because 1901 is remembered for the administrative reports of the period, not for any change in census method. In an examination read the word synchronous carefully, because it decides between 1872 and 1881.

The correct answer is C, about 121 crore. Census 2011 counted 1,210.8 million people, that is about 121 crore, of whom roughly 62.37 crore were males and 58.65 crore females, giving India about 17.5 per cent of the world's population on about 2.4 per cent of its land area. Option A is wrong because about 102 crore was the figure of Census 2001, and the difference between the two is the decadal growth of 17.70 per cent. Option B is wrong because no census recorded a figure of 110 crore; it falls between the two census years. Option C stands because the census is the only authoritative count. Option D is wrong because figures above 130 crore are later projections and estimates, not census data, and an examination asking for Census 2011 expects the census figure. Learn the two together: 102 crore in 2001 and 121 crore in 2011.

The correct answer is D, 943 females per 1,000 males. Census 2011 recorded an overall sex ratio of 943, an improvement over 933 in 2001, while the child sex ratio in the age group of nought to six years fell to 919 girls per 1,000 boys, the lowest recorded since independence. Option A is wrong because 927 was the child sex ratio recorded in Census 2001, a figure often set against the 919 of 2011 to show the decline. Option B is wrong because 933 was the overall sex ratio of Census 2001 and is the commonest distractor in this question. Option C is wrong because 940 is simply a near value with no place in the census tables. The safest way to hold these numbers is as a set of four: 933 and 927 for 2001, 943 and 919 for 2011.

The correct answer is B, 74.04 per cent. Census 2011 recorded an overall literacy rate of 74.04 per cent, made up of 82.14 per cent among males and 65.46 per cent among females, the gap of nearly seventeen percentage points being a favourite point for questions. Option A is wrong because 64.83 per cent was the literacy rate of Census 2001 and is the standard distractor. Option C is wrong because 77.70 per cent is a later survey estimate and not a census figure, and a question on Census 2011 expects census data. Option D is wrong because 82.14 per cent is the male literacy rate of 2011, offered here as the overall rate, which is the trap in the question. Remember the three numbers of 2011 in order: 74.04 overall, 82.14 male and 65.46 female, with Kerala highest at 93.91 per cent and Bihar lowest at 61.80 per cent.

The correct answer is C, Bihar, which recorded 1,106 persons per square kilometre, the highest among the states, against the national figure of 382. The reason is the combination of fertile alluvial soil, assured water from the Ganga and its tributaries and a largely rural population living in closely spaced villages. Option A is wrong because Uttar Pradesh, with about 829 persons per square kilometre, is the most populous state but not the most densely populated, a distinction examiners test very often. Option B is wrong because West Bengal, at about 1,028, stands second among the states. Option D is wrong because Kerala, at about 860, comes after West Bengal. Among the union territories Delhi has by far the highest density, so check whether the question asks about states or includes union territories before answering.

The correct answer is C, Arunachal Pradesh, which recorded only 17 persons per square kilometre, the lowest among the states, because most of its area is steep mountain and dense forest with very little cultivable land. Option A is wrong because Sikkim, although the least populous state in absolute numbers, has a density of about 86 persons per square kilometre, which is far above Arunachal Pradesh; the difference between least populous and least dense is the trap here. Option B is wrong because Mizoram has a density of about 52. Option D is wrong because Himachal Pradesh, in spite of its mountains, has about 123 persons per square kilometre because of its well populated valleys. Keep the pair in mind: Bihar is the most densely peopled state and Arunachal Pradesh the least, while Uttar Pradesh is the most populous and Sikkim the least.

The correct answer is A, Kerala, with a literacy rate of 93.91 per cent, the highest among the states, the result of a long history of schooling, missionary and princely state education and high female literacy. Option B is wrong because Mizoram, at about 91.58 per cent, stood second among the states and is the most frequent distractor in this question. Option C is wrong because Goa, at about 88.70 per cent, comes after Mizoram and Tripura. Option D is wrong because Tripura recorded about 87.22 per cent in 2011. Among the union territories Lakshadweep had the highest literacy at about 92.28 per cent, so a question that includes union territories may have a different answer from one that asks only about states. The lowest literacy among states was in Bihar at 61.80 per cent, and Kerala also has the highest sex ratio, 1,084.

The correct answer is B, Sikkim, whose population in Census 2011 was about 6.1 lakh, the smallest of any state; among the union territories the smallest was Lakshadweep with about 64,000 people. Option A is wrong because Goa, with about 14.6 lakh people, is the smallest state of India in area but not in population. Option C is wrong because Mizoram, with about 10.9 lakh, stands above Sikkim. Option D is wrong because Nagaland, with about 19.8 lakh, is larger still, although it is remembered as the only state whose population fell between 2001 and 2011. The counterpart fact is that Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state with about 19.98 crore people, which is more than the population of most countries of the world.

The correct answer is C, 1921. It is the only census year in which the population of India actually declined, the cause being the influenza epidemic of 1918 along with famine and outbreaks of plague and cholera. After 1921 the death rate began to fall while the birth rate stayed high, so the population grew steadily, and the year therefore divides the phase of stagnant growth from the phase of steady growth. Option A is wrong because 1901 shows slow growth but no decline. Option B is wrong because 1911 also records growth, though a small one. Option D is wrong because 1951 is called the small divide, the year after which growth became very rapid and India entered the stage of population explosion. Learn the pair: 1921 the Great Divide and 1951 the small divide.

The correct answer is A. The census is taken under the Census Act of 1948 by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, which works under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and census is a Union subject so the responsibility is wholly that of the central government. Option B is wrong because the National Statistical Office conducts sample surveys such as the periodic labour force survey and compiles national income, which are different exercises from a complete head count. Option C is wrong because the Representation of the People Act and the Election Commission deal with electoral rolls and the conduct of elections; an electoral roll counts voters, not the whole population. Option D is wrong on both counts, because there is no Census Act of 1961 and the Planning Commission, replaced in 2015, prepared plans rather than taking the census.