The details of the distribution of population as well as it population in different States and Union Territories of India, a obtained in the 1991 and 2001 censuses.
According to the 2001 census, Uttar Pradesh is the most populated state in India (16.2 per cent of India’s population), those it is not the largest state in terms of land area.
Maharashtra will a population of 96.8 million, accounting for 9.4 per cent of the told population of India, stands second. Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu follow in that order with respectively 8.1, 7.8, 7.4 and 6.1 per cent of India’s total population. All the Union Territories together have less than two per cent of the population of India.
While studying population distribution, it is customary to study population density (no. of persons per square kilometer).
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Population Distribution by Classification of Residence
It has been recognised for several centuries that differences exist between the population living in rural areas and that living in urban areas.
In recent times, interest in the study of urban population has been growing, for many countries of the world are at present undergoing rapid urbanisation.
It has been estimated that, in 1920, the world’s urban population was 360 million; it grew to 1,300 million in 1970 and is expected to touch the 3,000 million mark by the end of the century. (These estimates are, of course, based on the assumption that the various definitions of “urban” adopted by the countries of the world are comparable.)
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Any demographic study of urbanisation is mainly concerned with the level and tempo of change in the distribution of the population between urban and non-urban areas.
Such a demographic study is important because it provides the basic information which enables us to formulate development plans and to implement development programmes.
Bose, while discussing how urbanisation data may be used in countries undergoing rapid urbanisation, mentions the following: “(1) the preparation of master plans for individual towns and cities; (2) projecting the urban population to indicate future needs in such areas as housing, schooling, health, transport, environmental planning and manpower planning; (3) dispersal of industry, creation of new towns and balanced industrial development; (4) understanding the implications of a shift from agriculture to industry in the overall process of economic growth; (5) understanding the implications of internal migration; and (6) comprehensive urban and regional development plans in the context of the Five-Year Plans.”