SSC CGL Geography · World and Human Geography
Population and Settlements
How population density is measured, what changes a population and draws people to a place, temporary settlements, and the stages of the demographic transition.
Why this matters
Eleven questions in the bank, and eight of them come from the 2025 shifts. Those papers asked the meaning of density measures and the stages of the demographic transition, often as assertion-reason questions, so learn each stage with its birth and death rates.
Concept 1 of 2: Density and population change
Definition
Density:
- Population density: people per square kilometre of land.
- Physiological density: total population per unit of net cultivated area.
- Agricultural density: only the farming population per unit of net cultivable area.
Change:
- A population changes through births, deaths and migration, and nothing else. Employment may cause migration but is not itself a component.
- Age-specific rates measure births or deaths within one age group, because they vary strongly with age.
- Minerals draw people because mines and industries create jobs.
- Temporary settlements are built in forests, deserts and on mountains, by people who move to hunt, herd or gather.
After India, Nepal has the largest Hindu population.
Practise this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · World and Human Geography · Population and Settlements
Employment is not a component
Concept 2 of 2: The demographic transition
Definition
The stages:
- First stage: high birth rate and high death rate, so slow growth.
- Second stage: better health care cuts the death rate fast while the birth rate stays high: a population explosion.
- Third stage: both rates are low, and growth slows. The transition is complete when fertility reaches the replacement level.
Limits of the theory: it does not take migration into account, and social and cultural factors can upset its predictions. Reproductive behaviour changes slowly, not at once, when health care improves.
Practise this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · World and Human Geography · Population and Settlements
High births and deaths give slow growth
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
Watch out for (2)
- Employment is not a component→ Density and population change
- High births and deaths give slow growth→ The demographic transition
Test yourself on World and Human Geography
10 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 6 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.