NCERT Solutions Class 12 Geography Chapter 2 The World Population Distribution Density and Growth

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.
(i) Which one of the following continents has the highest growth of population?
(a) Africa
(b) South America
(c) Asia
(d) North America

Answer : A

(ii) Which one of the following is not an area of sparse population?
(a) The Atacama
(b) South-east Asia
(c) Equatorial region
(d) Polar regions

Answer : B

(iii) Which one of the following is not a push factor ?
(a) Water shortage
(b) Medical/educational facilities
(c) Unemployment
(d) Epidemics

Answer : B

(iv) Which one of the following is not a fact?
(a) Human population increased more than ten times during the past 500 years.
(b) Nearly 80 million people are added to the world population each year.
(c) It took 100 years for the population to rise from 5 billion to 6 billion.
(d) Population growth is high in the first stage of demographic transition?

Answer : C

112. Answer the following questions in about 30 words:

(i) Name three geographical factors that influence the distribution of population: 
Answer : The three geographical factors that influence the distribution of population are:
1. Availability of water: It is the most important factor of life. People prefer to live in areas where fresh water is readily available. Water is essential in development of agriculture and carrying out day-to-day activities.
2. Land forms: People prefer to live in flat plains and gentle slopes as they are favourable for the production of crops and in building roads and industries.
3. Climate: People prefer living in areas that do not have extreme climatic conditions that is areas that do not have high diurnal and annual range of temperature and also which have adequate rainfall.
4. Soils: Fertile soils are important for agricultural and allied activities. Therefore, areas which have fertile loamy soils, have more people living on them as they can support intensive agriculture

(ii) There are a number of areas of high population density in the world. Why does this happen?
Answer : The areas with high population density across the world have at least one or usually multiple factors favourable for the settlement of population. Wherever people found conducive conditions for living, they have been settling there. With passage of time and growth of population, these areas became regions of thick population density. For example, the regions with availability of water, good climate, presence of minerals and other resources, of religious or cultural significance became regions of thick population. Example: Ganga-Yamuna Doab, Mediterranean regions.

(iii) What are the three components of population change?
Answer : The three components of population change are:
1. Crude Birth Rate (CBR): It is expressed as number of live births in a year per thousand of population in a particular region.
2. Crude Death Rate (CDR): It is the number of deaths in a place per thousand of population in a particular region. CBR and CDR are natural factors of population growth. They result in natural population growth, which is equal to the difference between CBR and CDR.
3. Migration: It is the induced factor in population growth. It is the number of people moving in and out of a place due to various social, economic and political reasons. It is taken into account while calculating actual growth of population.

3. Distinguish between:
(i) Birth rate and death rate.
(ii) Push factors and pull factors of migration.
Answer : 

CDR = D/P ✖ 1000
Here, CDR = Crude Death Rate; D= Number of deaths; P = Estimated mid-year population of that year.

4. Answer the following questions in about 150 words.

(i) Discuss the factors influencing the distribution and density of population in the world.
Answer : The various factors that influence the distribution and density of population in the world are:
(i) Geographical Factors:
• Availability of water: People prefer to live in areas where fresh water is easily available. Water is used for drinking, bathing and cooking – and also for cattle, crops, industries and navigation.
• Landforms: People prefer living on flat plains and gentle slopes because such areas are favourable for the production of crops and to build roads and industries.
• Climate: An extreme climate such as very hot or cold deserts are uncomfortable for human habitation. Areas with a comfortable climate, where there is not much seasonal variation attract more
people.
• Soils: Fertile soils are important for agricultural and allied activities. Therefore, areas which have fertile loamy soils have more people living on them.
(ii) Economic Factors
• Minerals: Areas with mineral deposits attract industries. Mining and industrial activities generate employment therefore these areas are densly populated.
• Urbanisation: Cities offer better employment opportunities, educational and medical facilities, better means of transport and communication.
• Industrialisation: Industrial belts provide job opportunities and attract large numbers of people.
(iii) Social and Cultural Factors: Some places attract more people because they have religious or cultural significance. People tend to move away from places where there is social and political unrest. Many a times governments offer incentives to people to live in sparsely populated areas or move away from overcrowded places.

(ii) Discuss the three stages of demographic transition.
Answer : The three stages of demographic transition are:
• The first stage has high fertility and high mortality because people reproduce more to compensate for the deaths due to epidemics and variable food supply. The population growth is slow and most of the people are engaged in agriculture where large families are an asset. Life expectancy is low, people are mostly illiterate and have low levels of technology.
• Fertility remains high in the beginning of second stage but it declines with time. This is accompanied by reduced mortality rate. Improvements in sanitation and health conditions lead to decline in mortality. Because of this gap the net addition to population is high.
• In the last stage, both fertility and mortality decline considerably. The population is either stable or grows slowly. The population becomes urbanised, literate and has high technical know-how and deliberately controls the family size.