Population, term referring to the total human inhabitants of a specified area, such as a city, country, or continent, at a given time. Population study as a discipline is known as demography. It is concerned with the size, composition, and distribution of populations; their pattern of change over time through births, deaths, and migration; and the determinants and consequences of such changes. Population studies yield knowledge important for planning, particularly by governments, in fields, such as health, education, housing, social security, employment, and environmental preservations. Such studies also provide information needed to formulate government population policies, which seek to modify demographic trends in order to achieve economic and social objectives. In 1952 India took the lead among developing nations in adopting an official policy to regulate its population growth. India’s stated purpose was to facilitate social and economic development by reducing the burden of a young and rapidly growing population. Surveys to ascertain contraceptive knowledge, attitude, the practice showed a high proportion of couples wishing no more children. This work gives a categorical account of population geography in pros and cons, describing basic principles and empirical findings.
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