India is a large and diverse country that adds about 19 million people to its population every year and contributes more to annual world population growth than any other country. Did you know that India is the world’s most populous democracy? Take our India population quiz to learn more about this ancient country filled with diverse ethnic, linguistic, geographic, religious, and demographic features.
1. In 2019 India’s population was 1.37 billion. What is India’s population projected to be in 2050?
A. 900 million
B. 1.6 billion
C. 2 billion
D. 2.2 billion
2. True or False: India is the second most populous country in the world.
A. True
B. False
3. India has a diverse economy. What sector is its major source of economic growth?
A. Handicrafts
B. Modern agriculture
C. Services
D. Traditional village farming
4. True or False: India has historically been amongst the top three most populous countries in the world.
A. True
B. False
5. According to the 2019-21 National Family Health Survey, India has reached ____________.
A. Equilibrium
B. Replacement fertility
C. Sub-replacement fertility
D. Zero population growth
6. Sanitation is a prominent issue in India. Between 2000 and 2020, the proportion of people using safely managed sanitation services improved from 7% to ___%.
A. 16
B. 26
C. 46
D. 66
7. How many official languages does India have?
A. 15
B. 18
C. 22
D. 30
8. India is home to ___ megacities.
A. 3
B. 5
C. 7
D. 9
9. What percentage of married women in India use some form of contraception?
A. 35%
B. 48%
C. 51%
D. 54%
10. Has the fertility rate in India increased or decreased since 1990?
A. Increased
B. Deceased
Answers:
1. B – India’s population is projected to increase to 1.6 billion by 2050.
2. A – True. True. China is the most populous country in the world with 1.4 billion people. India is the second most populous country with 1.37 billion people and is projected to surpass China’s population by 2027.
3. C – Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for nearly two-thirds of India’s output but employing less than one-third of its labor force. India has capitalized on its large, educated, English-speaking population to become a major exporter of information technology services, business outsourcing services, and software workers.
4. A – True, India has historically been amongst the top three most populous countries in the world.
5. B – India has reached replacement fertility as families have fewer children. Replacement fertility means that each couple has, on average, only the number of children to “replace” itself in the population without increasing the size of the next generation.
6. C – According to the World Bank, India has improved the proportion of people using safely managed sanitation services from 7% in 2000 to 46% in 2020.
7. C – India has 22 official languages. The most widely spoken is Hindi which 44% of the population speaks.
8. B – There are five cities in India with a population of more than 10 million: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai.
9. D – 54% of married women in India use some form of contraception.
10. B – In 1990 the fertility rate, the average number of children a woman has during her child-bearing years was 5.9 and has decreased to 2.0 in 2021.
Updated May 2022
References
Question 1:
Desai, S. (2021, July 11). India’s population data and a tale of two projections. The Hindu. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/indias-population-data-and-a-tale-of-two-projections/article32329243.ece
Chandrashekha, V. (2019, December 12). Why India is making progress in slowing its population growth. Yale E360. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-india-is-making-progress-in-slowing-its-population-growth
Question 2:
Chandrashekha, V. (2019, December 12). Why India is making progress in slowing its population growth. Yale E360. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-india-is-making-progress-in-slowing-its-population-growth
Question 3:
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. (2021, June 17). Sector-wise GDP of India. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://statisticstimes.com/economy/country/india-gdp-sectorwise.php
India Brand Equity Foundation. (2022, April). Growth of services sector in India. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.ibef.org/industry/services/infographic
Question 4:
Ghosh, I. (2020, November 24). This is how the populations of India and China have changed since 1800. World Economic Forum. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/population-race-china-india/
Question 5:
Ministry of Health & Family, Government of India. (2021). National Family Health Survey, India. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-5.shtml
Kapil, S. (2021, November 27). India’s growing and aging populations require investments across all sectors. Down To Earth. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.downtoearth.org.in/interviews/health/-india-s-growing-and-aging-populations-require-investments-across-all-sectors–80411
Question 6:
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene. (n.d.). People using safely managed sanitation services (% of population) – India. World Bank. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SMSS.ZS?locations=IN
Question 7:
Hartley, J. (2021, October 31). Indian languages: A useful guide to all the languages spoken in India. Berlitz. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.berlitz.com/blog/indian-languages-spoken-list
Castillo, V. (2019, February 15). Which languages are spoken in India? Babbel Magazine. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/what-languages-are-spoken-in-india
Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. (n.d.). Population by bilingualism and trilingualism, India. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20191113211224/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-17.html
Question 8:
Torkington, S. (2016, October 5). India will have 7 mega cities by 2030, UN says. World Economic Forum. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/10/india-megacities-by-2030-united-nations
Question 9:
Parsekar, S. S., Hoogar, P., Dhyani, V. S., & Yadav, U. N. (2021). The Voice of Indian women on Family Planning: A qualitative systematic review. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 12, 100906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2021.100906
Ghosh, R., Mozumdar, A., Chattopadhyay, A., & Acharya, R. (2021). Mass media exposure and use of reversible modern contraceptives among married women in India: An analysis of the NFHS 2015–16 data. PLOS ONE, 16(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254400
Question 10:
Kapil, S. (2021, November 27). India’s growing and aging populations require investments across all sectors. Down To Earth. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.downtoearth.org.in/interviews/health/-india-s-growing-and-aging-populations-require-investments-across-all-sectors–80411
