CHANGING DYNAMICS OF POPULATION IN GUJARAT: DISTRICT LEVEL ANALYSIS OF POPULATION, SEX RATIO AND URBANIZATION

Transcription

1 CHANGING DYNAMICS OF POPULATION IN GUJARAT: DISTRICT LEVEL ANALYSIS OF POPULATION, SEX RATIO AND URBANIZATION Prof. Tarang Solanki Assistant Professor Economics School of Social Science Gujarat University Ahmedabad Abstrast:- Gujarat is one of the most diverse states in India. Gujarat derives its name from the word 'Gujaratta'. Gujaratta means the land of gurjars, a sub-tribe of the Huns who ruled the area during the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Gujarat is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west, by Rajasthan in the north and northeast, by Madhya Pradesh in the east and by Maharashtra in the south and south east. The state has an international border and has a common frontier with Pakistan at the northwestern fringe. It is situated on the north end of the west coast of India and covers an area of 196,024 square km. At present, Gujarat comprises of 26 districts. Keywords: - diverse, Arabian, frontier. Population and Population Growth The position of Gujarat at the national level, in terms of population, shows that state account of 4.99 percent of total population of the country according 2011 population census which represent the decadal growth of percent which is higher than the percent decadal growth reported at all India level but lower than the population growth observed during In terms of population, Gujarat is ranked 10 th among the states and union territories. The population of the Gujarat is not evenly distributed across the districts. Half of the state population resides in only seven districts, whereas the remaining 19 districts account for the remaining 50 percent of the population. District Ahmedabad with a population of 72 lakh at the 2011 population census is the most populous district of the state. On the other hand, district The Dangs with a population of 2.26 lakh is the smallest district of the state in terms of population size. The decadal growth in population across various districts is presented in figure 1. It can be seen from the figure than there has been wide variations in the population growth ranging from highest percentages recorded in Surat district to lowest rate of 8.24 percentages recorded in Navsari district. Further the comparison of decadal growth at the district level between and shows that the decadal percentage of growth in population has actually declined in 14

2 almost all the district except for rate from percentages to Kachchh, Amreli and Dahod. In the during and case of Kachchh the population has grown by percentages during respectively. There has not been much change in the position of districts in against percentages terms of percentage of total state during Surat shows biggest population. declined in decadal population growth Districts with High And Low Decadal Growth in Population Highest Decadal Growth in Population Lowest Decadal Growth in Population Name of District Percentage decadal growth rate of population Surat Kachchh Dohad Banaskantha Ahmadabad Junagadh Mahesana 9.91 Porbandar 9.17 Amreli 8.59 Navsari 8.24 Sex- Ratio 15

3 Sex ratio is measured as number of females per 1000 males. Sex ratio is one of the measures of social balance and social development. Adverse sex ratio is not desirable for long term social and economic development. The population sex ratio in Gujarat is estimated to the 918 female per 1000 males which is well below the national average of 940. Further the population sex ratio shows marginal decline between 2001 and 2011 from 920 to 918. The child sex ratio is 886 per 1000 males and has decreased as compared to 964 in the 2001 census. Within the state of Gujarat, the population sex ratio varies across districts. The sex ratio varies across the districts which highest for The Dangs (1007) and lowest for Surat (788). Among all the districts only two district viz. The Dangs and Tapi have sex ratio of more than 1000 representing more female per male population. Districts with High And Low Sex Ratio Name of District Sex Ratio The Dangs 1007 Highest Sex Ratio Lowest Sex Ratio Tapi 1004 Dohad 986 Amreli 964 Navsari 961 Anand 921 Gandhinagar 920 Kachchh 907 Ahmadabad 903 Surat

4 Change in Sex Ratio Gujarat Kachchh Banaskantha Patan Mahesana Sabarkantha Gandhinagar Ahmadabad Surendranagar Rajkot Jamnagar Porbandar Junagadh Amreli Bhavnagar Anand Kheda PanchMahals Dohad Vadodara Narmada Bharuch The Dangs Navsari Valsad Surat Tapi Gujarat Kachchh Banaskantha Patan Mahesana Sabarkantha Gandhinagar Ahmadabad Surendranagar Rajkot Jamnagar Porbandar Junagadh Amreli Bhavnagar Anand Kheda PanchMahals Dohad Vadodara Narmada Bharuch The Dangs Navsari Valsad Surat Tapi Sex Ratio Sex Ratio in Gujrat 2001 and Among various district, largest decline in the sex ratio has been noticed in the case of Kachchh where is has declined from 942 to 907 during 2001 and 2011 respectively. The districts like Amreli and Surat also represents large declined in the sex ratio. On the other side The Dangs represents largest ever improvement in sex ratio from 987 in 2001 to 1007 in Similar improvement in the sex ratio has been observed in the case of Kheda and Vadodara. 30 Changes in Sex Ratio at District Level

5 Changes in the sex ratio at various districts are presented in figure above where position above the x-axis shows improvement in sex ratio while point below the axis represents decline in sex ratio. There are districts showing improvement in sex ratio (viz The Dangs, Kheda, Vadodar, etc) as against district showing decline in sex ratio (viz. Kachchh, Amreli, Surat etc). It is noteworthy that, the districts which are otherwise called, the backward and underdeveloped, shows high sex ratio where as the districts considered developed shows low sex ratio. Surat, Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar are among the districts with lowest sex ratio which are otherwise the developed district of the state. Gandhinagar, the Districts with High And Low Urbanization Most Urbanized Least Urbanized capital city of the state, is ranked 4 th lowest in terms of sex ratio. Ahmedabad and Surat has remained at the bottom of the list in terms of sex ratio for both the Census 2001 and Urbanization The level of urbanization is considered as one of the parameter of economic development. Population census 2011 data reveals that the Gujarat s urban population as a percentage of its total population grew from 37.36% in 2001 to 42.58% in This remarkable rise of 5.22% in the urban population in the last one decade is the highest in the country and much ahead of Tamil Nadu (4.41%), Maharashtra (2.80%) and even the national average of 3.35%. Name of District Urban Population as a Percentage of Total Population Ahmadabad 84.05% Surat 79.68% Rajkot 58.12% Vadodara 49.54% Porbandar 48.77% Banas Kantha 13.27% The Dangs 10.89% Narmada 10.44% Tapi 9.79% Dohad 8.99% 18

6 The level of urbanization also varies across districts. Within the state, urbanization levels vary from 8.99% in Dohad to 84.05% in Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad has the highest percentage of urban population followed by Surat (79.68%), Rajkot (58.12%), Vadodara (49.54%), Porbandar (48.77%). On the other side the districts with lowest urban population include Dohad (8.99%), Tapi (9.79%), Narmada (10.44%), The Dangs (10.89%) and Banas Kantha (13.27%). 19

7 Conclusion: There has been marked difference at district level in terms of population size, growth, sex ratio and urbanization. Contrary to general understanding, the sex ratios do not match with the level of population growth and urbanization. The districts which otherwise are on the top list as most urbanized are at the bottom list when it comes to sex ratio. While the districts which are not so urbanized and developed are in the top list with positive sex ratio with marked improvement in the same. One of the reasons for such situation is migration from urban to rural areas. Male members are more prone to migrate in search of jobs while migration tendencies are less among female. The migration of males from under developed and less urbanized district to more urbanized and developed districts may result into decline in sex ratio in more urbanized districts. One needs to have studies on the migration patter to justify such conclusions. We can have similar study at the village level which gives good insight at village level difference. One of the major implications for such results is urgent need to take some action to improve the sex ratio in big, developed and most urbanized districts. Changing social structure and preference toward male child may be one of the reasons behind the same. Declining sex ratio, in the long run, crease social imbalance and problems associated with the same. Reference: 1.Census of India Directorate of Census Operations Gujarat 3.Socio Economic Review of Gujarat, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Gujarat 20