Vishnu Pratap Singh Page 36
Demography of Punjab
Demography is the study of human populations. It encompasses the study of the size,
structure and distribution of populations, and how populations change over time due to
births, deaths, migration andageing. Demographic analysis can relate to whole societies
or to groups defined by criteria such as education, nationality, religion and ethnicity.
India accounts for 2.4% of world’s surface area and 16.7% of the world
population. As per census of India 2001, it is the second largest populated
country (to cross one billion mark) in the world after China with 1,028,737,436
persons. The population of the country increased by 21.34 % between 1991 -
2001. The sex ratio (i.e., number of females per thousand m ales) of population
was 933, rising from 927 as at the 1991 Census. Total literacy rate was 65.38%.
According to the 2001 census there lived about 2.4% people of India in Punjab. It
shows that Punjab accommodates more people than its capacity. Punjab ranks
15th population wise in India
Further, Punjab is a small state having an area of 50362 square kilometers, which
is 1.56% of the total area of India. The total population of Punjab during 2001
stood at 2, 43, 58,999 persons as per the results of the Census of India 2001.
The State has registered a lower decennial growth rate of 20.10% when
compared to national average of 21.54%.
Sex ratio of population has come down from 882 in 1991 to 876 in the present
census. Total literacy rose to 69.7% from 58.51% during 1991 Census.
The state is facing some severe environmental problems, ranging from air and
water pollution to deforestation and desertification, and its large population is
putting a strain on its natural resources. Most of the other problems like ov er
exploitation of shrinking natural resources, hunger and malnutrition, increasing
unemployment and socio -economic insecurity, rising human -resource
exploitation, frustration/ indiscipline/disorders, inadequate infrastructure, etc in
our country and this state have emerged mainly because of ever increasing
population.
It is important that for environment protection & overall growth of the state, we
must attain goals like betterment of life support system and hence population.
This can be achieved only by c ontrolling the population and efficient use of
natural resources.
Climate of Punjab
Punjab's climate is characterised by extreme hot and extreme cold conditions. Annual
temperatures in Punjab range from 2 to 40°C (min/max), but can reach 47°C (117°F)
in summer and 0°C in winter. The northeast area lying near the foothills of the
Himalayas receives heavy rainfall, whereas the area lying further south and west
receives less rainfall and experiences higher temperatures. Average annual rainfall
ranges between 960 mm in the submountain region and 460 mm in the plains.
Punjab has three seasons:[30]
Summer (April to June), when temperature typically rise as high as 110°F.
Monsoon season (July to September), when a majority of rainfall occurs.
Winter (December to February), when temperatures typically fall as low as 40°F.