Question

Describe the rural-urban composition of the population.

Write a brief account of the rural-urban composition of the Indian population.

Answer 1

The division of population into rural and urban is based on the residence. This division is necessary because rural and urban lifestyles differ from each other in terms of livelihood and social conditions. The age-sex-occupational structure, density of population and level of development vary between rural and urban populations and are also dependent on the state of development of a country.

The more progressed a country is with respect to its development, the more people are engaged in non-primary activities, thus leading to a shift from rural areas to urban areas. Moreover, industrialisation also makes headway into the rural countryside, constructing new towns in hitherto traditionally agrarian areas, and therefore the population that was originally rural becomes urban now. The criterion for classifying a settlement as rural or urban varies from country to country. In general terms, in rural areas more people are engaged in primary activities, whereas in urban areas the majority of the population is associated with secondary or tertiary sectors.

The sex composition of rural and urban settlements varies between developed and developing countries. In the developed countries, like the Western European nation due to security and availability of jobs, women move out to urban areas. Farming is mostly mechanised there; hence, men tend to stay in rural areas and look after farming activities. Whereas a completely contrary picture can be seen in developing countries like India, where, due to lack of security, housing, and job opportunities, females tend to stay back in rural areas and look after farming, whereas male members move out to urban areas in search of working opportunities.