Population and Economic Activity
This domain links population structure to work, migration and economic change. Exam items test demographic transition, occupational structure, dependency ratios, work participation and push–pull migration, with Assam’s agrarian workforce as a common case.
Core rules and concepts
- Demographic transition moves from high birth and death rates to low rates, with a lag that creates a youthful bulge.
- Occupational structure shows the share of workers in primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary activities.
- Dependency ratio = ((0–14) + (65+) ÷ 15–64) × 100.
- Work participation rate is workers as a percentage of population; labour force participation includes the unemployed seeking work.
- Push factors include low farm income and flood risk; pull factors include tea, oil, construction and urban services.
Worked example
A district has 30,000 children aged 0–14, 5,000 people aged 65+, and 65,000 aged 15–64. Dependency ratio = (30,000 + 5,000) ÷ 65,000 × 100 = 53.8. Reasoning: every 100 working-age people support about 54 dependants. A high ratio raises pressure on health and schooling, but it is not automatically negative if the young later join the workforce.
Traps that cost marks
- Dividing by total population instead of the working-age group.
- Confusing sex ratio with literacy or workforce shares.
- Counting unpaid family farm workers as non-workers; census definitions matter.
- Treating a youthful population only as a burden, ignoring the demographic dividend.
For Assam, note the high share of cultivators and agricultural labourers and the growing informal service sector. Always specify whether the figure is a percentage, a ratio or a rate.