GeographyCBSE Class 12 · Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition

Population Composition and Working Population of India (Class 12 Geography, India: People and Economy, Chapter 1)

Updated 16 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In 2011, 68.8 per cent of Indians lived in villages and 31.16 per cent in towns. Indo-Aryan languages are spoken by about 73 per cent; Hindus form 79.8 per cent. Only 39.8 per cent are workers (main and marginal); 54.6 per cent of workers are in the primary sector. 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' promotes gender sensitivity.

Notice that fewer than 4 in 10 Indians work, and more than half of those workers depend on the primary sector.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Population Composition and Working Population

Why this topic matters. Main and marginal workers, the largest or smallest language family, and Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao come as 1-mark items, and a 5-mark question on the campaign was set in 2026.

1. Population composition. A field of population geography covering age and sex, residence, ethnicity, tribes, language, religion, marital status, literacy and occupation. The syllabus covers rural-urban, linguistic, religious and working composition.

2. Rural-urban composition (2011).

68.8 per cent live in villages; India has 6,40,867 villages, of which 5,97,608 (93.2 per cent) are inhabited.
Very high rural shares: Himachal Pradesh and Bihar; Goa and Mizoram have just over half in villages; UTs are mostly urban except Dadra and Nagar Haveli (53.38 per cent rural).
Village size: under 200 persons in north-eastern hill states, Western Rajasthan and the Rann of Kuchchh; up to 17 thousand in Kerala and parts of Maharashtra.
Urban share 31.16 per cent, low but growing fast because of economic development and better health and hygiene.
Rural-urban migration is marked along main road and rail links in the North Indian Plains and in industrial clusters such as Ahmedabad-Surat, Ludhiana-Jalandhar, Delhi-Kanpur, Madurai-Coimbatore, Bengaluru-Mysuru and the areas around Mumbai and Kolkata. Urbanisation stays low in agriculturally stagnant middle and lower Ganga plains, Telangana, non-irrigated Western Rajasthan, remote tribal north-east and flood-prone parts.

3. Linguistic composition.

Grierson (Linguistic Survey of India, 1903-1928): 179 languages and 544 dialects.
Today about 22 scheduled languages; Hindi speakers are the largest group; the smallest scheduled groups are Sanskrit, Bodo and Manipuri (2011).
Language regions merge and overlap at their edges.
Four families: Indo-European (Aryan) 73%, Dravidian 20%, Austric (Nishada) 1.38%, Sino-Tibetan (Kirata) 0.85%, the smallest.

4. Religious composition (Census 2011, Table 1.3). Hindus 79.8%, Muslims 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, Jains 0.4%.

Muslims, the largest minority, form majorities in the Kashmir valley and Lakshadweep.
Christians: mostly rural; west coast around Goa and Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Chotanagpur and the Manipur hills.
Sikhs: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi. Jains: urban Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra. Buddhists: mostly Maharashtra; majorities in Sikkim, Arunachal, Ladakh, Tripura, Lahul and Spiti.
Religion shows on the landscape through sacred structures, cemeteries and sacred groves.

5. Working population (2011).

Three groups: main workers (work at least 183 days, six months, a year), marginal workers (less than 183 days), non-workers.
Workers are only 39.8 per cent; about 60 per cent are non-workers, so dependency is high and unemployment or under-employment likely.
Work participation ranges from about 29.1 per cent (Lakshadweep) to 51.9 per cent (Himachal Pradesh); it tends to be higher in less developed areas, where manual subsistence work needs many hands.
Census categories: cultivators, agricultural labourers, household industrial workers, other workers.
Sectors: primary 54.6%, secondary (household industry) 3.8%, tertiary/other 41.6%. Male workers outnumber female in all three. Primary share fell from 58.2% (2001) to 54.6% (2011), a shift to non-farm work.
Many cultivators: Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland. Many agricultural labourers: Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh. Mostly other services: Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry.

6. Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao. Biological differences become the basis of social discrimination and exclusion; excluding over half the population handicaps any society. UNDP (HDR 1995): 'If development is not engendered it is endangered.' Gender discrimination denies education, jobs, political representation and equal wages. The Government of India launched the nationwide 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign to address these harms.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

If development is not engendered it is endangered
UNDP, Human Development Report 1995 (quoted in NCERT): Box on promoting gender sensitivity through Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao.
Development that leaves out women is at risk; the campaign responds to this.

Population Composition and Working Population: key facts

Worker definitions: Main worker: at least 183 days (six months) a year
Marginal worker: less than 183 days
Workers 39.8% (2011); Non-workers about 60 per cent.
Sectoral workforce (2011): Primary 54.6%
Secondary (household industry) 3.8%
Tertiary (other workers) 41.6%
Primary was 58.2% in 2001; Four census categories: cultivators, agricultural labourers, household industry, other.
Language families: $I n d o - E u r o p e an 73$; Grierson: 179 languages, 544 dialects; 22 scheduled languages.
Religion and residence (2011): $H in d u s 79.8$; Census of India 2011.

How to answer Population Composition and Working Population questions

Expect 1-mark items on worker definitions, language families and BBBP, data questions on Table 1.4, and 3- or 5-mark answers on working population or gender sensitivity.

1Define main and marginal workers with the 183-day line.
2From Table 1.4, compute shares as part / total x 100 and comment on the farm-to-non-farm shift.
3For language questions, remember the order 73, 20, 1.38, 0.85: Indo-European largest, Sino-Tibetan smallest.
4For BBBP, link biological difference, social discrimination, its costs, the UNDP quote and the campaign's aim.
5Explain why work participation is higher in less developed states: subsistence work needs many manual workers.

Population Composition and Working Population in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Main vs marginal worker

Suppose a woman works on her family farm for four months at harvest and sowing, and her brother works in a factory all year.

Classify each by census definition.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Main worker: at least 183 days (six months) of work a year.
Marginal worker: less than 183 days.

Answer: The brother is a main worker; the woman, at about four months, is a marginal worker.

Memory hook: Half a year makes it main.

Dependency

Suppose a household of ten has four workers and six non-workers (children, elderly, students, home-makers without paid work).

How does this compare with India's figure, and what does it suggest?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

40 per cent workers is close to India's 39.8 per cent.
A large dependent share means each worker supports more people, and hints at unemployment or under-employment.

Answer: It mirrors India's 39.8 per cent work participation; a big dependent population and possible under-employment.

Memory hook: Four earn, six depend.

Tricks to remember Population Composition and Working Population

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

'Indian Dosas Are Superb' 73-20-1.38-0.85
Indo-European, Dravidian, Austric, Sino-Tibetan, from largest to smallest.
Use it when: Language families.
183 days
Half a year (six months) divides main from marginal.
Use it when: Worker definitions.
55-4-42
Primary about 55, secondary about 4, tertiary about 42 per cent of workers (54.6, 3.8, 41.6).
Use it when: Sector shares 2011.
Engendered or endangered
One letter changes the meaning: leave women out and development is at risk.
Use it when: UNDP quote in BBBP answers.

Population Composition and Working Population: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: States and occupations · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

According to NCERT, which pair of states has very large shares of cultivators among its workers?
(A) Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland
(B) Delhi and Chandigarh
(C) Goa and Mizoram
(D) Kerala and Puducherry

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT: Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland have very large shares of cultivators; Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry have most workers in other services (1 mark).

Answer: (A) Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland

Example 2: Assertion and reason on urban workforces · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

Assertion (A): Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry have a very large proportion of workers engaged in other services.
Reason (R): These highly urbanised areas have limited farming land and large-scale urbanisation and industrialisation that need more non-farm workers.
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(C) (A) is true but (R) is false.
(D) (A) is false but (R) is true.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT gives exactly this explanation for the high share of other-service workers in these areas, so R explains A (1 mark).

Answer: (A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

Example 3: Data: Table 1.4 · 3 marks · Source-basedHarder board level

In 2011, 26,30,22,473 workers were in the primary sector, 1,83,36,307 in the secondary and 20,03,84,531 in the tertiary sector.
(i) Find the total number of workers. (1)
(ii) What percentage were in the primary sector? (1)
(iii) What does the fall from 58.2 per cent in 2001 suggest? (1)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) 26,30,22,473 + 1,83,36,307 + 20,03,84,531 = 48,17,43,311 (1 mark).
(ii) 26,30,22,473 / 48,17,43,311 x 100 = 54.6 per cent (1 mark).
(iii) A shift of workers from farm-based to non-farm occupations, a sectoral shift in the economy (1 mark).

Answer: (i) 48,17,43,311 workers. (ii) 54.6 per cent. (iii) Dependence on farming is falling and more workers are moving to secondary and tertiary activities, indicating a sectoral shift in India's economy.

Example 4: Religion on the landscape · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

How is religion expressed on India's landscape? Explain with examples from NCERT. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Sacred structures are widely distributed, from small village shrines to large Hindu temples, monumental masjids and ornate cathedrals in big cities (1 mark).
Religion also shapes land use through cemeteries and through groves of trees and assemblages of plants and animals kept for religious purposes (1 mark).
Temples, masjids, gurudwaras, monasteries and churches differ in size, form, space-use and density, giving a special dimension to the landscape (1 mark).

Answer: Religion appears on the landscape first through sacred structures, which range from inconspicuous village shrines to large Hindu temples, monumental masjids and ornately designed cathedrals in metropolitan cities. It also shapes land use through cemeteries and through groves of trees and assemblages of plants and animals kept for religious purposes. Because temples, masjids, gurudwaras, monasteries and churches differ in size, form, space-use and density, they give a special dimension to the landscape of an area.

Example 5: Religious distribution · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Where are Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists concentrated in India? Explain with one feature of each. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Sikhs: small area, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi (1 mark).
Jains: urban areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra (1 mark).
Buddhists: mostly Maharashtra; majorities in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Tripura, Lahul and Spiti (1 mark).

Answer: Sikhs (1.7 per cent in 2011) are concentrated in a relatively small area, mainly Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. Jains (0.4 per cent) live mostly in the urban areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Buddhists (0.7 per cent) are concentrated mostly in Maharashtra, and form majorities in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Tripura and Lahul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh.

Example 6: HOTS: what the workforce table says about women · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

NCERT Table 1.4 (2011) gives female workers as 9,75,75,398 of 26,30,22,473 in the primary sector, 85,60,672 of 1,83,36,307 in the secondary and 4,37,41,311 of 20,03,84,531 in the tertiary sector. Work out the female share in each sector, interpret the pattern, and explain why NCERT links such gaps to the need for 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao'. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Female shares: primary 9,75,75,398 / 26,30,22,473 x 100 = 37.1 per cent; secondary 85,60,672 / 1,83,36,307 x 100 = 46.7 per cent; tertiary 4,37,41,311 / 20,03,84,531 x 100 = 21.8 per cent (2 marks).
Interpretation: male workers outnumber female workers in all three sectors; female workers are relatively concentrated in the primary sector, with some recent improvement in secondary and tertiary work (1 mark).
Link: biological difference becomes social discrimination, denying women education, employment, political representation and equal wages; exclusion of over half the population handicaps development ('If development is not engendered it is endangered') (1 mark).
Response: the Government of India's nationwide Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao campaign to address these discriminations (1 mark).

Answer: Women are 37.1 per cent of primary workers, 46.7 per cent of secondary (household industry) workers and only 21.8 per cent of tertiary workers. So, as NCERT notes, male workers outnumber female workers in all three sectors, and women are relatively concentrated in farm work, though their participation in secondary and tertiary work has improved somewhat.

The low share in the tertiary sector, which needs education and skills, reflects how biological differences become social discrimination: girls and women are denied opportunities of education, employment and political representation, and receive lower wages for similar work.

Excluding over half the population is a serious handicap for a developing society; as the UNDP put it, if development is not engendered it is endangered.

Recognising these adverse impacts, the Government of India launched the nationwide 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign. Educating girls widens the skilled workforce, so the campaign is an economic as well as a social need.

Where students lose marks in Population Composition and Working Population

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Wrong 183-day rule
Half-remembered definition.
Wrong working
A main worker works at least 100 days a year.
Right working
A main worker works at least 183 days (six months) a year; less is marginal.
Do this: Half a year makes it main.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Calling Austric the smallest family
Both small shares look alike.
Wrong working
Austric (1.38%) is the smallest language family.
Right working
Sino-Tibetan (0.85%) is the smallest; Austric is 1.38%.
Do this: 73-20-1.38-0.85.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Mixing smallest family with smallest language
Two different questions.
Wrong working
Smallest language group: Sino-Tibetan.
Right working
Smallest scheduled language groups: Sanskrit, Bodo, Manipuri; smallest family: Sino-Tibetan.
Do this: Read 'family' vs 'language'.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: BBBP answer without the social argument
Only the campaign name written.
Wrong working
BBBP is a scheme to save girls.
Right working
Explain social construction of discrimination, its costs, the UNDP quote, forms of denial and the campaign's response.
Do this: Cause, cost, response.
Usually costs: 2-3 marks in a 5-mark answer.

Exam tips

Asked in: 2026 board paper 64/2/1 Q27 (5 marks, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao and women's empowerment); 2026-27 sample paper Q2 (1 mark, BBBP and girls' education); 2025 board paper 64/4/1 Q12 (1 mark, mismatched definitions including marginal worker); 2023 board paper 64/4/1 Q12 (1 mark, smallest linguistic group); 2023-24 sample paper Q6 (1 mark, largest linguistic group); 2026 board paper 64/1/1 Q23 (3 marks, Table 1.4 on the sectoral workforce) and 64/3/2 Q9 (1 mark, definition of main worker); 2024 board paper 64/1/2 Q21 (3 marks, rural-urban composition) and 64/2/1 Q26(b) (5 marks, gender discrimination). The answers on this page are our own.
Quote Census 2011 figures with the year.
In data questions on Table 1.4, show the addition and percentage working.
Use the UNDP line in any gender-sensitivity answer.

Practice questions on Population Composition and Working Population

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala are speech areas of which language family in NCERT Table 1.2?
(A) Austric
(B) Dravidian
(C) Sino-Tibetan
(D) Indo-European
Hint
About 20 per cent of speakers.
Answer
(B) Dravidian (Dravida), about 20 per cent.
Q2 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level
What percentage of India's population lived in villages in 2011? (1 mark)
Hint
Nearly seven in ten.
Answer
68.8 per cent.
Q3 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder board level
Which were the smallest scheduled language groups in India in 2011? (1 mark)
Hint
One classical, two from the north-east.
Answer
Sanskrit, Bodo and Manipuri speakers.
Q4 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level
According to Grierson's survey, how many languages and dialects were there in India? (2 marks)
Hint
Linguistic Survey of India, 1903-1928.
Answer
179 languages and 544 dialects.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
A household of six has a father who works eight months a year in a factory, a mother who works three months a year at harvest, a retired grandfather, two school children and an uncle who is looking for work. Classify each member by census category and work out the household's work participation rate. How does it compare with India's (2011)? (3 marks)
Hint
183 days; workers = main + marginal.
Answer
Father: main worker (more than 183 days, about eight months). Mother: marginal worker (less than 183 days). Grandfather, the two children and the job-seeking uncle: non-workers. Workers = 2 of 6, so the rate is 2 / 6 x 100 = 33.3 per cent, below India's 39.8 per cent; the household has a large dependent share and an unemployed member, the kind of situation NCERT's low national figure points to.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What does the low proportion of workers (39.8 per cent) indicate about India's economy? (3 marks)
Hint
Dependency, unemployment.
Answer
It means about 60 per cent of people are non-workers, so a large dependent population relies on a small working one. It also suggests a large number of unemployed or under-employed people. Raising female participation and non-farm jobs would reduce dependency.
Q7 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
"Urbanisation in India has followed transport routes and industry." Examine the statement using NCERT's account of rural-urban composition (2011). (5 marks)
Hint
Shares, growth, where migration is strong, where weak.
Answer
In 2011, 68.8 per cent of Indians lived in villages and 31.16 per cent in towns; the urban share is low but growing much faster, owing to enhanced economic development and better health and hygiene, and almost every state and UT shows a considerable increase in urban population through development and rural-urban migration. NCERT notes that this migration is conspicuous along the main road links and railroads of the North Indian Plains and in the industrial areas around Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru-Mysuru, Madurai-Coimbatore, Ahmedabad-Surat, Delhi-Kanpur and Ludhiana-Jalandhar. By contrast, urbanisation has remained low in the agriculturally stagnant middle and lower Ganga Plains, Telangana, non-irrigated Western Rajasthan, the remote hilly tribal north-east, flood-prone parts of Peninsular India and eastern Madhya Pradesh, where transport and industry are weaker. Highly urbanised Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry have most workers in non-farm services. So the statement is largely true: towns have grown where transport and industry offer jobs, though farm stagnation and remoteness also explain where they have not.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.How many villages did India have in 2011, and how many were inhabited?Show answer
6,40,867 villages, of which 5,97,608 (93.2 per cent) were inhabited.
2.Which religion forms 14.2 per cent of India's population?Show answer
Islam (Muslims), the largest religious minority.
3.What was India's work participation in 2011?Show answer
39.8 per cent (main and marginal workers).
4.Which state has the highest work participation per NCERT?Show answer
Himachal Pradesh, about 51.9 per cent.
5.How many scheduled languages does India have?Show answer
About 22.

Population Composition and Working Population: frequently asked questions

Which Union Territory is an exception with a large rural share?

Dadra and Nagar Haveli, with 53.38 per cent rural population; other UTs have small rural shares.

Where do Christians mainly live in India?

Mostly in rural areas: along the western coast around Goa and Kerala, in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, the Chotanagpur area and the hills of Manipur.

Do India's language regions have sharp boundaries?

No. NCERT notes that linguistic regions do not have sharp, distinct boundaries; they gradually merge and overlap in their frontier zones.

What did the UNDP say about gender and development?

"If development is not engendered it is endangered" (Human Development Report 1995), quoted by NCERT in the box on Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao.