Here we are providing Class 12 Geography Important Extra Questions and Answers Chapter 3 Population Composition. Geography Class 12 Important Questions are the best resource for students which helps in class 12 board exams.

Class 12 Geography Chapter 3 Important Extra Questions Population Composition

Population Composition Important Extra Questions Very Short Answer Type

Question 1.
When is sex ratio unfavourable ?
Answer:
When number of men is more than number of women.

Question 2.
What is the average world sex ratio ?
Answer:
990 females per 1000 males.

Question 3.
In which country, is the highest sex ratio found ?
Answer:
In Estonia—1190 females per 1000 males.

Question 4.
In which country, is the lowest sex ratio found ? (CJ3.S.E. 2011)
Answer:
In Qatar—303 females per 1000 males.

Question 5.
In how many countries (according to U.N.O.), the sex ratio is favourable ?
Answer:
139 countries.

Question 6.
In how many countries (according to U.N.O.), the sex ratio is unfavourable ?
Ans.
72 countries.

Question 7.
What is age structure ?
Or
Define the term ‘Age structure’. (Delhi 2019)
Answer:
Age structure represents the number of people of different age groups.

Question 8.
Which diagram shows age-sex structure ?
Answer:
A population pyramid.

Question 9.
Which country’s population shows a constant Pyramid ?
Answer:
Australia.

Question 10.
Which country shows a declining pyramid ?
Answer:
Japan.

Population Composition Important Extra Questions Short Answer Type

Question 1.
What is the main characteristic of people of a country ? What are the distinguishing attributes of people ?
Answer:
People of India are diverse and unique in many respects. People can be distinguished by their age, sex and their place of residence. Other distinguishing attributes of the population are :

  • occupation
  • education
  • life expectancy.

Question 2.
What is sex ratio ? How is it calculated in India ? (C.B.S.E. 2013)
Answer:
The ratio between the number of women and men in the population is called the sex ratio. It is number of females per 1000 males. In India the sex ratio is worked out using the formula.
sex Ratio = \(\frac{\text { Female Population }}{\text { Male Population }} \times 1000 \)

Question 3.
Why Japan has a declining population Pyramid ?
Answer:
Japan’s pyramid has a narrow base and it tapers topward. It shows low birth and low death rates. The population growth is zero or negative.

Question 4.
What are the characteristics of population in developed countries ?
Answer:
(i) Share of older people is large.
(ii) Population in higher age group has increased due to increased life expectancy.
(iii) The proportion of children has declined due to reduction in birth rates.

Question 5.
Describe the Ageing Population.
Answer:
This is the process by which the older population share becomes proportionally larger. This is a new phenomena of 20th century. Population in higher age groups in most of the developed countries has increased because of increased life expectancy.

Question 6.
Describe the distribution of world pattern of sex ratio.
Answer:

  • On an average, the world population reflects a sex ratio of 990 females per 1000 males.
  • The highest sex ratio in the world has been recorded in Latvia which is 1187 females per 1000 males.
  • The lowest sex ratio occurs in Qatar which is 320 females per 1000 males.
  • The sex ratio is favourable for females in 139 countries of the world.
  • It is unfavourable sex ratio for females in 72 countries listed by the United Nations.
  • In general, Asia has a low sex ratio. Countries like China, India, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan have a lower sex ratio.
  • On the other extreme is greater part of Europe (including Russia) where males are in minority.

Question 7.
What is meant by literacy rate ? Why is there a wide variation in the literacy rate among different countries of the world ?
Answer:
Literacy rate is the percentage of people above 7 years age who can read and write in their everyday life. Literacy rate is different in different countries due to different levels of economic development, urbanisation and standard of living.

Question 8.
Describe the characteristics of world population as revealed by the age structure.
Answer:
(i) World population is more youthful with about 36% population in age group below 15 years. In developed countries, it is 23 per cent while in developing countries, it is 40 per cent. This is an unproductive group.
(ii) The adult age group (15-59 years) is higher in number and is a productive group.
(iii) Aged people (above 60 years) increase with increase in population.

Question 9.
Discuss the factors responsible for imbalance in the sex-ratio found in different parts of the world.
Answer:

  • In developing countries, infant mortality is higher among males than females.
  • In developed countries, male mortality is higher than females.
  • Migration of males or females also affects sex ratio.
  • In developing countries, male migration from villages to towns also affects sex-ratio.

Question 10.
Explain the inter-relationship between population and development.
Answer:
Since Malthus’ projection, the study of population and development has become important. A further growth of population, puts pressure on land for food production. Large population is a negative factor in development. However, it depends upon its quality. Growth of population creates an imbalance in population and resources.

Other factors like technology also affects this balance. Thus, development depends upon a set of social, economic, technological and political conditions. A new concept of Human Development Index (HDI) has been introduced to assess it.

Question 11.
Write a short note on literacy in the world.
Or
‘The proportion of literate population of a country is an indicator of its socioeconomic development.” Evaluate the statement. (Outside Delhi 2019)
Answer:
Literacy is an index of socio-economic development of an area. It reflects quality of populations. There is a wide variation over the world in the literacy rates which denotes the percentage of people aged 7 and above who can, with understanding, both read and write a short, simple statement in their everyday life.

Major factors affecting this rate are

  • levels of economic development
  • urbanisation and
  • standard of living
  • social status of females
  • availability of educational facilities and
  • the policies of the government.

Level of economic development is both a cause and a consequence of literacy.

The developed and urban economies reflect higher literacy rate and higher standards of education. Low levels of literacy and education indicate rural-farm economies.

Population Composition Important Extra Questions Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Write a note on Age-Sex structure in the world.
Answer:
Age Composition. The composition of population according to age or sex is called age and sex structure. It is fundamental to understand demographic characteristics. People are grouped according to age groups. The age is written in round number. The differences in age groups create economic disparities in the world.

Importance. Age composition unfolds many mysteries of population and affects long range future results. It helps to determine the labour force of a region and its efficiency. It estimates the needs and employment of a region. It helps to know the dependent population. It helps to know the future growth of population of a region.

Determinants of Age Structure
The following elements are the main determinants of age structure :

  • Fertility
  • Mortality
  • Migration.

Distribution of age groups

1. Young age group. It includes the population below 15 years. In developing countries, 40% of population consists of young population; whereas this percentage is about 20 per cent in developed countries.

2. Adult group. It includes the population between 15-64 years age. It is the productive population group. In developed countries, this group is 60% and it is 35% in developing countries.

3. The Old age group. It includes the population above 65 years age. In developed countries, this group is 10 to 12%. It is only 4% in developing countries. In India, old age group is 8%. This is dependent population.

Question 2.
What do you mean by age-sex Pyramid ? Describe the different types of age-sex Pyramids.
Answer:
Age-Sex Pyramid (Imp)
Or
What is age structure? Interpret with example. (C.B.S.E. Delhi 2017)

The age-sex structure of a population refers to the number of females and males in different age groups. A population pyramid is used to show the age-sex structure of the population.

The shape of the population pyramid reflects the characteristics of the population. The left side shows the percentage of males, while the right side shows the percentage of women in each age group.

Different types of age-sex Pyramid

(1) Expanding Populations. This is a triangular shaped pyramid with a wide base and is typical of less developed or under-developed countries. These have a larger population in the lower age groups due to high birth rates.
Examples. The Pyramids for Bangladesh, Mexico and Nigeria.
Geography Class 12 Important Questions Chapter 3 Population Composition 1

(2) Constant Population. It is bell shaped structure and taper towards the top. This shows that the birth and death rates are almost equal, leading to a near constant population. Example. Australia’s age-sex pyramid.
Geography Class 12 Important Questions Chapter 3 Population Composition 2

(3) Declining Pyramid. It has a narrow base and a tapered top showing low birth and death rates. The population growth in developed countries is usually zero or negative.
Example. Pyramid of Japan.
Geography Class 12 Important Questions Chapter 3 Population Composition 3

Question 3.
Describe the different types of Human occupations.
Answer:
Human activities. Man adopts some ways to make a livelihood. He may be engaged in certain economic activities. These activities are called human occupations. These human occupations are considerably influenced by physical conditions. Lumbering is carried on in Taiga forests. Sheeps are reared in temperate grasslands. Agriculture is the mainstay of people in tropical lowlands.

Cultural conditions help in the choice of occupations. Man adapts his occupations according to his needs and cultural development. Religion, education, social systems, technical knowledge and the standard of living also influences human occupations. The economic activities can be divided into four groups :

(i) Primary Activities. These activities are directly related to physical conditions. Man obtains products directly from nature through these activities. The primary activities include, gathering, hunting, fishing, lumbering, mining, cattle-rearing and agriculture.

(ii) Secondary Activities. In secondary activities, man changes the form of raw materials. This increases the value and utility of products. Manufacturing, dairy farming and commercial fishing are secondary activities.

(iii) Tertiary Activities. Tertiary activities include all services and occupations. These are used for exchange and distribution of products. These include transport and trade.

(iv) Quarternary Activities. Some high services which indirectly influence the human activities are included in Quarternary Activities. Some high services like Education, Research, Medical services, Administrative, Defence, etc. are included in Quarternary Services.

Population Composition Important Extra Questions HOTS

Question 1.
In which area a deficit of males is found ? Give two reasons.
Answer:
In Europe (including Russia) males are in minority. There is a deficit of males in European countries.
(i) This is due to better status of women.
(ii) There is an excessive male-dominated out-migration to other countries.

Question 2.
“In western countries of the world, males outnumber females in rural areas and females outnumber the males in urban areas.” Evaluate the statement. (Outside Delhi 2019)
Answer:
The population of the world is divided into two groups – Rural population and Urban population. This division is necessary as the rural and urban lifestyles are different from each other. In western countries of the world, males outnumber females in rural areas and females outnumber the males in urban areas.

In countries such as Nepal, Pakistan and India the case is reverse. The excess of female population is urban areas of U.S.A., Canada and Europe is the result of influx of females from rural areas to avail the great jobs. In these developed countries farming is also mechanised and remains a male occupation.

By contrast in Asian Urban areas sex ratio remains male dominated because of the pre dominance of male migration. In countries like India, female participation in farming activity in rural areas is quite high. Shortage of housing, high living cost, lack of security, etc. discourage women to migrate from rural to urban areas.