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 :
- (a)Only 1
- (b)Only 2
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
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'.
- (a)Only 1 — Wrong — it drops statement 2, but high literacy (particularly female literacy) is a well-established driver of lower birth rates, as Kerala shows.
- (b)Only 2 — 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)Neither 1 nor 2 — Wrong — both statements are correct; urbanisation and rising literacy each pull the birth rate down, so 'neither' is the opposite of the truth.
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.
Both statements describe standard, textbook relationships, so the trap is to over-think the wording of statement 2 ('directly related'). Read it as 'closely linked' — higher literacy goes with lower birth rate. Since both are accepted demographic truths, mark 'Both 1 and 2'. Kerala is the ready example that confirms both: high urbanisation and literacy, low birth rate.
- Urbanisation lowers fertility: higher child-rearing costs, later marriage, more women in paid work.
- Female literacy is one of the strongest predictors of lower birth rates.
- Kerala — highest literacy in India — has among the lowest birth/fertility rates (early demographic transition).
- These factors together drive the shift from high to low birth rates in the demographic transition model.
Both drivers pull the birth rate down — so both statements are correct, answer (c).
- Over-reading 'directly related' in statement 2 — here it means 'closely associated', i.e., high literacy goes with low birth rate
- Assuming urbanisation raises the birth rate (it generally lowers it)
Population questions come as statement-based true/false — know the standard links: education, urbanisation and health care all reduce the birth rate.
The population growth rate in Kerala is the lowest among major Indian states. Which one of the following is the most widely accepted reason for this?
- (a) Kerala has made the highest investment in family planning
- (b) Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India
- (c) Kerala has invested heavily in promoting literacy and public health and placed high priority on social policies
- (d) The population pyramid in Kerala has relatively fewer women in the reproductive age group
Answer(c) Kerala has invested heavily in promoting literacy and public health and placed high priority on social policies
Same concept — it confirms statement 2: high literacy and social development lower the birth/growth rate, exactly as seen in Kerala.
Consider the following specific stages of demographic transition associated with economic development: 1. Low birthrate with low death rate 2. High birthrate with high death rate 3. High birthrate with low death rate Select the correct order of the above stages using the codes given below:
- (a) 1, 2, 3
- (b) 2, 1, 3
- (c) 2, 3, 1
- (d) 3, 2, 1
Answer(c) 2, 3, 1
Same broad concept — the demographic transition, in which development (urbanisation, literacy) drives the birth rate from high down to low.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which State of India has been the pioneer of demographic transition, with the lowest birth and fertility rates, largely due to high literacy and public health?
- (a)Punjab
- (b)Kerala
- (c)Gujarat
- (d)Haryana
Answer(b) Kerala — high literacy and strong public health lowered its birth and fertility rates first.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The 'crude birth rate' is measured as the number of live births per
- (a)100 people per year
- (b)1,000 people per year
- (c)1,000 women per year
- (d)one woman in her lifetime
Answer(b) 1,000 people per year — births per thousand of the total population in a year.