With reference to 'birth rate' which of the following statement(s) is/are correct ?
1. Urbanization helps in reducing the birth rate.
2. High literacy rate is directly related to low birth rate.
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Question

With reference to 'birth rate' which of the following statement(s) is/are correct ?
1. Urbanization helps in reducing the birth rate.
2. High literacy rate is directly related to low birth rate.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Codes :

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, Both 1 and 2. Statement 1 is correct: urbanisation lowers the birth rate — city life raises the cost of raising children, delays marriage, brings more women into paid work and improves access to health care and contraception, all of which reduce fertility. Statement 2 is correct in the sense intended: a high literacy rate (especially female literacy) is closely associated with a low birth rate, because educated women marry later, have better awareness of family planning and choose smaller families. Kerala — India's most literate State — has among the lowest birth rates, illustrating the link. Both statements being true, the answer is 'Both 1 and 2'.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Wrong — it drops statement 2, but high literacy (particularly female literacy) is a well-established driver of lower birth rates, as Kerala shows.  (b) Wrong — it drops statement 1, yet urbanisation is a standard factor that reduces fertility through higher costs of child-rearing and greater female workforce participation.  (d) Wrong — both statements are correct; urbanisation and rising literacy each pull the birth rate down, so 'neither' is the opposite of the truth.

Concept: Birth rate (crude birth rate = live births per 1,000 people per year) falls as a society modernises — the core idea of the demographic transition. The strongest levers are education (especially of women), urbanisation, better health care, later age at marriage and access to contraception. As these rise, couples opt for fewer children, so fertility and the birth rate decline.

State PCS 2021 Q44 — Geography PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2021 Q44 — Geography PYQ with Answer