Chapter Overview

India counted 1,21,08,54,977 people in Census 2011: about 17.5% of the world’s population on 2.4% of its land. How many we are, where we live, how we are composed (sex ratio, literacy, religion, language, work), how we move (migration) and how we settle (villages and towns) together make up population geography (जनसंख्या भूगोल). Every Mains answer on poverty, employment, urban policy or human development leans on these numbers.

For CGPSC, this chapter is the India-wide frame. The state’s own figures (population 2.55 crore, sex ratio 991, ST 30.62%) are in the companion chapter Population and Census of Chhattisgarh. Learn the two side by side, because examiners love putting the India figure as a distractor for the Chhattisgarh one, and the other way round.

Which census? (as of October 2026)

Census 2011 is still the latest published census. Census 2027, India’s 16th, is under way: the houselisting phase ran between April and September 2026 (each state chose a 30-day window), and population enumeration is due in February 2027 with a reference date of 1 March 2027 (1 October 2026 for Ladakh and snow-bound areas of J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand). Until its results come out, every population figure in the exam comes from Census 2011.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

Quote India’s Census 2011 headline numbers (size, growth, density, sex ratio, literacy, urban share) using the final figures, and recognise the provisional ones
Describe the four phases of India’s population growth since 1901 and explain why 1921 is the “Great Divide”
Name the extreme states and districts on population, growth, density, sex ratio and literacy
Explain population composition: sex ratio, child sex ratio, literacy gaps, religion, language, SC/ST and occupational structure
Define migration as the census does, read its streams and reasons, and apply Ravenstein’s laws and Lee’s push–pull model
Use census definitions of urban areas (statutory towns, census towns, UAs, size classes) and analyse India’s urbanisation and its problems
Classify rural settlements (clustered, semi-clustered, hamleted, dispersed) and towns (by function and by history)

Prerequisites

India: Location and Physiography: relief explains much of the distribution of population
Climate and Soils and Natural Vegetation: rainfall and soil decide where farming, and hence people, concentrate
Population and Census of Chhattisgarh: the state figures you will compare against

Learning Path

graph TD
    A["1. Census 2011 Highlights
size, growth phases, density,
extremes, Census 2027"] --> B["2. Population Composition
sex ratio, literacy, religion,
language, SC/ST, workers"]
    B --> C["3. Migration
types, streams, reasons,
theories, policy"]
    C --> D["4. Urbanisation and Settlements
urban definitions, trends,
rural and urban settlement types"]
    D --> E["5. Quick Revision"]
    E --> F["Next chapter:
Environment and Ecology"]

Topics in This Chapter

#	Topic	What it covers
1	Census 2011 Highlights: Size, Growth and Distribution	How the census works, headline figures, four phases of growth since 1901, density and distribution, extreme states and districts, Census 2027, population policy
2	Population Composition	Sex ratio and child sex ratio, literacy, rural–urban split, religion, language, SC/ST, workers and occupational structure
3	Migration	Census definitions, types and streams, Census 2011 and PLFS 2020–21 data, reasons, theories (Ravenstein, Lee), consequences, international migration and remittances, policy
4	Urbanisation and Settlements	Rural settlement types, census definition of urban, census towns, UAs and million-plus cities, trends and state ranking, classification of towns, slums, urban missions
—	Quick Revision	Every number and definition of the chapter on one page

Where It Is Asked

Paper	What to expect
Prelims P-I (Part 1, India GS)	One-liners on Census 2011 figures (943, 918, 72.98%, 382, 31.1%), “highest/lowest state” questions, census definitions (census town, literate, migrant), phases of growth, and statement-based questions mixing provisional and final figures
Mains P-V (GS-III), Geography of India	Distribution and density of population, population growth and policy, migration (causes and consequences, seasonal migration from Chhattisgarh), urbanisation and its problems, types of rural settlement; 60-word and 150–200-word answers

Exam focus

High-yield: final vs provisional Census 2011 figures; 1921 as the Great Divide; Bihar (density), Kerala (sex ratio, literacy), Haryana (lowest sex ratio and child sex ratio), Goa (most urbanised state); census-town criteria; marriage as the top reason for migration.
Common mistakes: quoting “Census 2021” (there was none); mixing up 943 (overall) with 918 (child); saying most migrants move for work.
Chhattisgarh angle for Mains: low urbanisation (23.24%) and density (189), the Raipur–Durg–Bhilai urban corridor, hamleted para settlements, and seasonal out-migration after the paddy harvest.

Quick Reference: India in Census 2011 (final figures)

Indicator	India	Chhattisgarh (for comparison)
Population	1,21,08,54,977 (males 62.33 crore, females 58.76 crore)	2,55,45,198
Decadal growth 2001–2011	17.7% (21.5% in 1991–2001)	22.61%
Density	382 per sq km (325 in 2001)	189
Sex ratio	943 (provisional 940)	991
Child sex ratio (0–6)	918 (provisional 914)	969
Literacy (7+)	72.98% (male 80.88%, female 64.63%; provisional 74.04%)	70.28%
Urban share	31.14% (37.7 crore; provisional 31.16%)	23.24%
Scheduled Castes / Tribes	16.6% / 8.6%	12.82% / 30.62%
Towns / villages	7,935 towns (4,041 statutory + 3,894 census) / 6,40,867 villages	—
Migrants by last residence	45.58 crore (about 37.6%)	—

Start Learning

Begin with the first topic:

→ Census 2011 Highlights: Size, Growth and Distribution