Key Points

According to the 2011 Census, India's total population was 1,210 million, making it the second most populous country in the world after China.

Population data in India is collected through the Census, which is conducted every 10 years. The first population Census was held in 1872, and the first complete Census was conducted in 1881.

India has a highly uneven pattern of population distribution. States like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal have very high populations, with ten states accounting for 76% of the total population.

Population distribution is influenced by physical factors like climate and terrain, and socio-economic factors like agriculture, industrial development, and urbanization.

Population density is the number of persons per square kilometer. In 2011, India's population density was 382 persons per sq km, with Bihar having the highest density among states (1102) and Arunachal Pradesh the lowest (17).

This period is known as the stagnant or stationary phase of population growth. The growth rate was very low, even negative during 1911-1921, due to high birth and death rates caused by poor health services.

This period saw steady population growth. Improvements in health and sanitation led to a decline in mortality rates, while birth rates remained high.

This period is referred to as the population explosion in India. It was caused by a rapid fall in the death rate but a continued high birth rate, leading to an average annual growth rate of 2.2 percent.

After 1981, the population growth rate remained high but started to slow down gradually. This was due to a downward trend in the crude birth rate, influenced by factors like female education.

In 2011, adolescents (10-19 years) constituted 20.9 percent of the population. The government's National Youth Policy (NYP-2014) aims to empower this group, defined as persons aged 15-29 years.

As of 2011, about 68.8 percent of India's population lives in rural villages, while 31.16 percent resides in urban areas. The urban population is growing at a faster rate due to economic development and migration.

India's languages belong to four major families. The largest is Indo-Aryan (73 percent), followed by Dravidian (20 percent), Austric (1.38 percent), and Sino-Tibetan (0.85 percent).

According to the 2011 census, Hindus constitute the majority at 79.8 percent. Muslims are the largest minority at 14.2 percent, followed by Christians (2.3 percent) and Sikhs (1.7 percent).

India's working population is divided into main workers (work for at least 183 days a year) and marginal workers (work for less than 183 days). In 2011, workers (main and marginal) were 39.8 percent of the total population.

The occupational structure is dominated by the primary sector, with 54.6 percent of workers being cultivators and agricultural laborers. The secondary sector employs 3.8 percent, and the tertiary sector employs 41.6 percent of the workforce.

The proportion of workers in the agricultural sector has declined from 58.2 percent in 2001 to 54.6 percent in 2011. This indicates a gradual shift from farm-based occupations to non-farm based ones in the secondary and tertiary sectors.