BRIEF ANALYSIS
I - POPULATION OF ALL AGE GROUPS 1. 1991 Census was held in 31 States/Union territories of India with reference to the date of 1.3.1991. It could not be held in Jammu & Kashmir. Total area of the country excluding Jammu & Kashmir is 3,065 thousand sq. kms. (including Jammu & Kashmir it is 3,287 thousand sq. kms.). Total number of districts in 31 States/ Union Territories at the time of 1991 census was 452 (including Jammu & Kashmir, it was 466). According to the 1991 census total population of 31 States/UTs at that time was 838.58 million. Population of India, including the projected population of Jammu & Kashmir, came to 846.30 million. Final population total indicate following distribution of the population by sex and rural/urban areas.
Distribution of total population by sex and urban/rural areas
(in 000's)
Persons Male Female
1. India Total 838,584 435,216 403,368
(Excluding
Jammu & Kashmir) Rural 622,812 321,279 301,533
Urban 215,772 113,937 101,835
2. India Total 846,302 439,230 407,072
(including Estimates
for Jammu & Kashmir) Rural 628,691 324,321 304,370
Urban 217,611 114,909 102,702
The highest population among the states/union territories was in U.P. being 139.11 million. Other states having more than 50 million population are Bihar (86.37), Maharashtra (78.94), West Bengal (68.08, Andhra Pradesh (66.51), Madhya Pradesh (66.18) and Tamil Nadu (55.86).
2. Density of population of the country excluding jammu & Kashmir and Assam for which comparative data for 1981 and 1991 is not available; increased from 230 in 1981 to 273 persons per sq. km. in 1991. Highest density is in Delhi (6,352) followed by Chandigarh (5,632). Among the major states having more than 15 million population, highest density is in West Bengal (767) followed by Kerala (749). Lowest is in Rajasthan (129), preceded by Madhya Pradesh (149).
3. Decadal growth rate of population of India which was 24.66 during 1971-81 declining to 23.855 during 1981-91. Annual exponential growth rate during 1981-91 works out to 2.14 as against 2.22 during 1971-81. The exponential growth rate was the highest in Nagaland (4.45) followed by Delhi (4.15) and A & N Islands (3.97). It was the lowest in Kerala (1.34) preceded by Tamil Nadu (1.48).
4. 74.37 percent of the population of the country resides in rural areas and 25.73 percent in urban areas. Highest percent of urban population was in Delhi (89.93) followed by Chandigarh (89.69) and the lowest was in Dadar & Nagar Haveli (8.47) preceded by Himachal Pradesh (8.69).
5. Population of Scheduled Castes in the country excluding Jammu & Kashmir was 138.22 million and formed 16.48 percent of the total population of the country. Scheduled Tribe population was 67.76 million and formed 8.08 percent of the total population. There is no Scheduled Caste population in the
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States/UT of Nagaland, A & N Islands and Lakshadweep. It is less than 5 percent in Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Dadar & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu and 20 percent or more in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Tribal population is more than 50% in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Dadar & Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep. There is no tribal population in Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi and Pondicherry.
6. 51.90 percent of the total population of India excluding Jammu & Kashmir was male and 48.10 percent was female. The sex ratio, defined as the number of female per thousand males for the country, declined from 934 in 1981 to 927 in 1991. Sex ratio was the highest in Kerala (1036) followed by Pondicherry (979) and Tamil Nadu (974). Lowest sex ratio was in Chandigarh (790) preceded by A & N Island (818), Delhi (827) and Arunachal Pradesh (859).
7. Birth rate, death rate and infant mortality rate are important demographic indicators and greatly influence size and growth of population. Crude birth rate in India has declined from 37.2 in 1981 to 29.3 in 1991. Crude death rate has also declined from 12.5 in 1981 to 9.8 in 1991. The Infant Mortality Rate has also come down from 120 in 1981 to 80 in 1991. In view of the target envisaged in the National Health Policy (1983), these indicators need to decline further to reach the target of Net Reproduction Rate of unity by 2000 A.D. It would mean reduction of birth rate to 21, death rate to 9 and Infant Mortality Rate to below 60 by 2000 A.D. as stipulated by the working group on Health For All. According to sample Registration System Estimates of 1991, birth rate is estimated to be the highest in Madhya Pradesh (35.8) followed by Uttar Pradesh (35.1) and Rajasthan (34.3). It is estimated to be the lowest in Chandigarh (14.1) preceded by Goa (16.8) and Kerala (18.1). Death rate is estimated to be highest in Madhya Pradesh (13.8) followed by Arunachal Pradesh (13.5), Orissa (12.7). It is estimated to be the lowest in Nagaland (3.3) preceded by Chandigarh (4.0) and Lakshadweep (4.7). Infant mortality rate is expected to be very high in Orissa (126) and Madhya Pradesh (122). It is expected to be very low in Kerala (17) preceded by Punjab (53) and Tamil Nadu (57).
8. It is observed that the birth rate, death rate and infant mortality rates in the country are declining. However, the demographic profile of the country is not uniform. The states of U.P., Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan together accounting for nearly 40 percent of the population of the country, have high crude birth rate, Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), and low age of girls at marriage. As will be seen in the next section, literacy rates particularly among females are also low in these very states.
II - POPULATION AND LITERACY SITUATION OF AGE GROUP 7 YEARS AND ABOVE 9. According to census definition, a person is deemed as literate if he or she can read and write with understanding in any language. Recognizing that ability to read and write with understanding is not ordinarily achieved until one had some schooling or had at least some time to develop these skills, Deptt. of Education, Ministry of HRD and Planning Commission felt that the population of seven years and above only should be classified as literate or illiterate. 1991 census for the first time adopted age group 7 and above for canvasing the literacy question. 0-6 age group population which is excluded from the purview of literacy question, forms 17.94 percent of the total population of the country Keeping in view the above decision, literacy rates for population aged 7 years and above have been worked out for 1991. Comparative position for the census years 1961, 1971 and 1981 was available for population aged 5 years and above as at that time children of the age group 0-4 only were excluded from the census literacy question. Literacy situation for age group 7 and above for 1981 has however been analysed by NIAE*.
* Statistical Database for Literacy - Literacy for age group 7 and above 1981-1991 - Volume I.
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National level 10. During the last three decades, population of the country has been increasing at the exponential growth rate of more than 2 percent per annum. While the expanded educational facilities pushed up the number of literates in the country, it has not been able to keep pace with the increasing population. Number of illiterates has simultaneously increased though at a declining rate of growth. A statement of population, literates, illiterates of the age group 5 and over for 1961, 1971 and 1981 and the age group of 7 and over for 1981 and 1991 is give below:
Comparative growth of Population, Illiterates and
Literates during 1961-91
Year Age group Population Illiterates Literates Literacy Increase in
Rates Lit. Rates
(in millions)
1961 5 and Over 372.84 267.32 105.52 28.30 -
1971 - do - 468.60 307.19 161.41 34.45 6.15
1981* - do - 581.78 340.75 241.03 41.43 6.98
1981* 7 and Over 541.04 305.31 235.73 43.57 -
1991** 7 and Over 688.16 328.88 359.28 52.21 8.04
* Excludes Assam where 1981 census was not held. ** Excludes Jammu & Kashmir where 1991 census was not held.
During 1961-71, population of the age group 5 and over increased by about 96 millions and the number of literates increased by about 56 million. Thus the number of illiterates increased by 40 million. During 1971-81 increase in population taking into account estimates for Assam for 1981 was of the order of 129 million and the corresponding increase in literates was 85 million and that of illiterates it was 44 million. Taking into account estimates for Assam for 1981 and J&K for 1991, increase in population aged 7 years and above during 1981-91 was about 138 million and increase in the number of literates was about 120 million. Increase in the number of illiterates was only 18 million. It shows that increase in population and literates has been substantially high during these decades but the rate of increase in the number of illiterates has declined over the three decades. For the first time in 1991, number of literates has exceeded the number of illiterates thereby taking the literacy rate above 50% landmark.
11. Gender disparity in literacy rate is a historical phenomenon. In 1901, while the literacy rate for males was 9.83 percent, it was only 0.60% in case of females. Comparative change in literacy rates for males and females during the last three decades has been as under:
Year Age group Literates in Literacy Male/female
millions Rates difference in
literacy rate
Male Female Male Female (%age points)
1961 5 and Over 77.94 27.58 40.39 15.33 25.06
1971 - do - 112.04 49.37 45.95 21.97 23.98
1981* - do - 161.29 79.75 53.46 28.47 24.99
1981* 7 and Over 158.22 77.51 56.38 29.76 26.62
1991** 7 and Over 229.53 129.75 64.13 39.29 24.84
* Excludes Assam. ** Excludes jammu & Kashmir. 3
The previous table indicates that large disparity still continues in the male/female literacy situation. While about two-thirds of the males in the country were literate in 1991, the landmark of 50 percent is still far beyond the reach of females. The difference between the male and female literacy rates has been of the order of about 25 percentage points during the last three decades. However there is a silver lining. While the literacy rate among males has increased by 7.70 percentage points during the decade (after excluding Assam and Jammu & Kashmir both for 1981 and 1991, for comparison purpose), corresponding increase in cans of females is 9.34 percentage points. Number of female literates per 1000 male literate has gone up from 491 in 1981 to 564 in 1991 and the index of gender equality which ideally should to 100 has improved from 68.31% in 1981 to 75.25 in 1991.
12. There is a large urban-rural differential in literacy rates. This differential is of the order of about 30 percentage points and has continued to remain so over the last several decades as may be seen from the table below:
Year Age group Literacy Rate
Urban Areas Rural Areas Difference in rural/
urban areas
(%age Points)
1961 5 and Over 54.43 22.46 31.97
1971 -do- 60.22 27.89 32.33
1981* -do- 64.85 34.04 30.81
1981* 7 and Over 67.20 36.00 31.20
1991* 7 and Over 73.08 44.69 28.39
* Excludes Assam
** Excludes Jammu & Kashmir.
While about three fourth of the urban population is literate, literacy rate in rural areas is yet much below the level of 50 percent mark. Literacy rate for females in rural areas is still lower, being only 30.62 When it is compared with the literacy rate of 81.09 percent for urban male population, the gearing gender and rural/urban disparities become quite evident. Though there is an improvement in rural/urban differentials during the decade 1981-91, yet it is seen that if the literacy rate of rural women increases by 9 percentage points (1981-91 rate) during a decade, it will take them more than five decades to reach the present level of urban males. When we are thinking of literacy for all by the year 2000, rural areas in general and rural females in particular deserve a special treatment if they are to reach even the level of 80% literacy.
State level 13. Literacy rate at the national level reveals only a part of the story of disparities in literacy situation in the country. Literacy rates among the States/UTs range from 89.81 percent in Kerala to 38.48 percent in Bihar, Difference between the highest and the lowest literacy rate among States/UTs is of the order of 51.33 percentage points which is even higher than the literacy rate in Bihar. It is observed that while 22 States/ UTs have literacy rate higher than the national average, 9 states and union territories besides Jammu & Kashmir where 1991 census was not held are having literacy rate of below the national average. On the basis of literacy rate, State/UTs can be grouped as under:-
Below 50% - Bihar (38.48), Rajasthan, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Meghalaya (49.10) and (Jammu & Kashmir).
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50% to 60% - Assam (52.89), Haryana, Karnataka, Sikkim, West Bengal, Punjab, Manipur (59.89)
60% to 60% - Tripura (60.44), Gujarat, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra (64.87).
70% to 80% - Daman & Diu (71.20) A & N Islands, Pondicherry, Delhi, Goa, Chandigarh (77.81)
80% and above - Lakshadweep (81.78), Mizoram, Kerala (89.81).
While Lakshadweep, Mizoram and Kerala are having literacy rate of above 80%, Bihar and Rajasthan are still below 40 percent.
14. Literacy rate in 1991 for rural areas varied from 88.92 in Kerala to 30.37 in Rajasthan and for urban areas it varied from 92.25 in Kerala to 61.0 in Uttar Pradesh. While literacy rate for male population varied from 93.62 in Kerala to 51.45 in Arunachal Pradesh literacy rate for female population varied from 86.17 in Kerala to 20.44 percent in Rajasthan. Among the states, highest literacy rate of 95.58 was in case of Kerala urban male population and the lowest rate of 11.59 was in case of Rajsthan's rural female population.
15. Number of literates increased in all States/Union Territories during 1981-91. Increase in literacy rate varied from 16.05 percentage points in Arunachal Pradesh to 3.00 percentage points in Chandigarh in respect of all persons and from 19.31 percentage points in Sikkim to 3.02 percentage points in Chandigarh in respect of only females. Increase in literacy rates was over ten percentage points in the States/UTs of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Nagaland, Daman & Diu, Tripura, Punjab and Manipur, It was below the national average of 8.65 in the States/UTs of Rajasthan (8.44), Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Mizzoram, Kerala, Orissa, dadar & Nagar Haveli, Meghalaya, Bihar, Delhi and Chandigarh (3.00).
16. Total number of illiterates of the age group 7 and above in India excluding J & K according to 1991 census was 328.88* million. Out of these more than half were in the five low literacy states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Other states having more than 10 million illiterates of age group 7 and above are Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa, Karnataka and Gujarat. There was increase in the number of illiterates during 1981-91 in most of the State/UTs. In case of Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Lakhadweep, there was marginal decrease in the number of illiterates during 1981-91. In case of Kerala the decline was of the order of 35% from 39.68 lakh in 1981 to 25.74 lakh in 1991. Increase in the number of illiterates during 1981-91 is more pronounced in case of low literacy states. It indicates that there is a vicious circle of low literacy, and increase in the absolute number of illiterates. This vicious circle will need to be broken in order to bring the low literacy states to the national level and then possibly to the level of high literacy states.
17. Statewise analysis of literacy situation indicates wide disparity in literacy among States/Uts. While Kerala, Mizoram and Lakshadweep have achieved the distinction of crossing the 80 percent mark which is considered a stage of self reliance, states like Bihar and Rajasthan which are still below 40 percent level of literacy and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Meghalaya and Jammu & Kashmir are struggling to cross the take off point of 50 percent.
18. In terms of the size of the problem of illiteracy seven states having more than 20 million illiterates each need special attention, as more than 70 percent of the illiterates of the country reside in these 7 States.
* Including estimates for Jammu & Kashmir, number of illiterates of the age group 7 and above comes to 332.7 million.
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Four of these seven States are in the Hindi belt and besides having about half the illiterates of the country, are faced with the problem of low literacy rate (40.92) as may be seen from the following table:-
Sl. Name of the No. of illiterates Percentage to Literacy Rate
No State (in millions) Total Illiterates
1 Uttar Pradesh 64.77 19.47 41.60
2. Bihar 42.21 12.69 38.48
3. Madhya Pradesh 29.62 8.90 44.20
4. Rajasthan 21.60 6.49 38.55
Sub-Total (4) States 158.20 47.55 40.92
5. Andhra Pradesh 31.06 9.33 44.09
6. West Bengal 23.91 7.19 57.70
7. Madharashtra 22.98 6.91 64.87
Sub-Total (7 states) 236.15 70.98 46.96
Total India 332.68 100.00 52.21