Chapter 1 — Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition

India's population was 1,210 million (1,210,193,422) as per the 2011 Census, making it the second most populous country in the world after China.

The first population Census in India was conducted in 1872, but the first complete Census was conducted in 1881. Since then, a Census has been held every 10 years.

The National Capital Territory of Delhi has the highest density at 11,297 persons per sq km. Arunachal Pradesh has the lowest at 17 persons per sq km. India's overall density is 382 persons per sq km.

Phase I (1901–1921): stagnant/stationary — even a negative growth of –0.31% during 1911–1921. Phase II (1921–1951): steady growth as mortality declined. Phase III (1951–1981): population explosion with an average annual growth rate of 2.2%. Phase IV (post-1981 to present): gradual slowdown due to a downward trend in the crude birth rate, increased mean age at marriage, and improved female education.

Physiological density = total population ÷ net cultivated area. Agricultural density = total agricultural population ÷ net cultivable area. Agricultural population includes cultivators, agricultural labourers, and their family members.

Kerala registered the lowest growth rate of 9.4% during 1991–2001, the lowest in the country during that period.

About 68.8% of India's total population lives in villages (2011). India has 640,867 villages according to Census 2011, of which 597,608 (93.2%) are inhabited.

Indo-European/Aryan — 73%; Dravidian — 20%; Austric (Nishada) — 1.38%; Sino-Tibetan (Kirata) — 0.85%. Hindi has the highest share among the 22 scheduled languages; Sanskrit, Bodo, and Manipuri have the smallest speaker groups.

Hindus: 966.3 million (79.8%), Muslims: 172.2 million (14.2%), Christians: 27.8 million (2.3%), Sikhs: 20.8 million (1.7%), Buddhists: 8.4 million (0.7%), Jains: 4.5 million (0.4%), and other religions/persuasions: 7.9 million (0.7%).

Primary sector (cultivators and agricultural labourers) = 54.6%; tertiary/other workers = 41.6%; secondary/household industry workers = 3.8%. The share of the primary sector declined from 58.2% in 2001 to 54.6% in 2011, indicating a sectoral shift toward non-farm occupations.

A Main Worker is a person who works for at least 183 days (six months) in a year. A Marginal Worker works for less than 183 days in a year. In 2011, only 39.8% of India's total population were workers (both main and marginal).

Adolescents (age 10–19 years) constitute 20.9% of India's 2011 population. Challenges include lower age at marriage, illiteracy (especially female), school dropouts, low nutrient intake, high maternal mortality among adolescent mothers, HIV/AIDS infections, drug abuse, alcoholism, and juvenile delinquency. The National Youth Policy (NYP-2014) defines youth as persons aged 15–29 years and aims to empower them to achieve their full potential.

Climate, terrain, and availability of water are the primary physical factors — the North Indian Plains, deltas, and coastal plains are densely populated. Socio-economic factors include early history of human settlement, development of transport networks, irrigation (e.g., Rajasthan), mineral and energy resources (e.g., Jharkhand), industrialisation, and urbanisation. Urban centres like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru attract large rural-urban migration.

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