According to the Census 2011, the density of population in which one among the following States is the lowest ?
- (a)Sikkim
- (b)Nagaland
- (c)Manipur
- (d)Mizoram
Correct — D, Mizoram. The 2011 Census put Mizoram's population density at about 52 persons per square kilometre, the lowest of the four States listed. The others are all denser — Sikkim about 86, Nagaland about 119 and Manipur about 122 persons per square kilometre. Mizoram combines a small population of roughly eleven lakh with a hilly, heavily forested area of about 21,000 square kilometres, and that ratio is what keeps its density down.
- (a)Sikkim — Sikkim is India's least populous State, so it is often picked here, but density is people per unit area and Sikkim is also very small. At about 86 persons per square kilometre it is denser than Mizoram.
- (b)Nagaland — Nagaland recorded about 119 persons per square kilometre in 2011 — more than twice Mizoram's figure. It was also the only State whose population fell between 2001 and 2011, which does not make it the sparsest.
- (c)Manipur — Manipur is the densest of the four at about 122 persons per square kilometre, because the Imphal valley concentrates a large share of the State's people on a small area of flat land.
Population density is simply total population divided by total land area, expressed in persons per square kilometre. In the 2011 Census India averaged 382 persons per square kilometre, but the spread is enormous — Bihar was the densest major State at over 1,100 while the hill States of the north-east were at the other extreme. Density is a ratio, so a State can have few people and still be dense if its area is tiny, which is precisely the confusion this question sets up.
Arunachal Pradesh, at about 17 persons per square kilometre, is actually the least dense State in the country — but it is not among the options, so within this set the answer is Mizoram. Watch the wording of such questions closely: 'lowest density' and 'least populated' are different tests, and Sikkim wins the second one while Mizoram wins the first. The 2011 Census remains the latest completed count, so these figures are still the official ones today.
- Census 2011 densities in persons per square kilometre — Mizoram about 52, Sikkim about 86, Nagaland about 119, Manipur about 122.
- Arunachal Pradesh had the lowest density of any Indian State at about 17 persons per square kilometre.
- India's average density in 2011 was 382 persons per square kilometre; Bihar was the densest State.
- Sikkim is the least populous State of India, while Mizoram is among the least densely populated.
- Reading 'lowest density' as 'smallest population' — Sikkim has the fewest people, Mizoram the thinner spread.
- Reaching for Arunachal Pradesh out of habit; it is the national low but is not always among the options.
NDA asks one Census superlative almost every paper, so learn the extremes as a table — highest and lowest for population, density, sex ratio, literacy and decadal growth.
Which one of the following States of India has the lowest density of population?
- (a) Himachal Pradesh
- (b) Meghalaya
- (c) Arunachal Pradesh
- (d) Sikkim
Answer(c) Arunachal Pradesh
The identical question with a different option set — and a different answer, because Arunachal Pradesh is on the list this time. It is the cleanest demonstration that in density questions you must scan the options before recalling the national low.
As per the 1991 Census, which one of the following states has a lower population density than the other three?
- (a) Sikkim
- (b) Nagaland
- (c) Meghalaya
- (d) Manipur
Answer(a) Sikkim
Almost the same four States two decades earlier, when Sikkim was the sparsest of the set. Densities move between censuses, so always answer from the census the question names.
According to Census of India, 2011, which one among the following is the least populated state in India?
- (a) Maharashtra
- (b) Madhya Pradesh
- (c) Odisha
- (d) Punjab
Answer(d) Punjab
The same census, the other superlative — total population rather than density. NDA alternates between the two, and mixing them up is the single commonest slip on this topic.
Consider the following statements on computation of density: 1. Physiological density can be computed by dividing the total population by the net cultivable area. 2. Agricultural density can be computed by dividing the total agricultural population by the net cultivable area. 3. Population density can be computed by dividing the total population by the total area. How many of the above statements is/are correct?
- (a) 1
- (b) 2
- (c) 3
- (d) None
Answer(c) 3
The definition behind this question, asked directly five years later. Learn the three density formulas together and both the data question and the concept question are covered.
- practice — not a real PYQ
According to Census 2011, which State of India recorded the lowest population density?
- (a)Mizoram
- (b)Arunachal Pradesh
- (c)Sikkim
- (d)Nagaland
Answer(b) Arunachal Pradesh — about 17 persons per square kilometre, the lowest of any State.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Population density of a State is obtained by dividing its total population by
- (a)its net sown area
- (b)its total geographical area
- (c)its urban area only
- (d)the number of its districts
Answer(b) its total geographical area — dividing instead by cultivable area gives physiological density.