Q. Consider the following statements:
1. Physiological density is the total population divided by total area.
2. Agricultural density is the total agricultural population divided by net cultivable area.
Which of the statements above is/are correct?

[A] 1 only

[B] 2 only

[C] Both 1 and 2

[D] Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: B
Notes:

Density of population is expressed as number of persons per unit area. It helps in getting a better understanding of the spatial distribution of population in relation to land. The density of population, is a crude measure of human and land relationship. To get a better insight into the human-land ratio in terms of pressure of population on total cultivable land, the physiological and the agricultural densities should be found out which are significant for a country like India having a large agricultural population.

Physiological density = total population / net cultivated area

Agricultural density = total agricultural population / net cultivable area

Agricultural population includes cultivators and agricultural labourers and their family members.

Agricultural density is the ratio between only the agricultural population and the total cultivated area. Therefore, the agricultural density is expressed in terms of agricultural population per unit of cultivated area. It has proved to be a useful index of man- land relationship in primarily an agrarian context.

Physiological density is a ratio between total population and total cultivable land. It is expressed in terms of persons/km2 of cultivable land. The correct picture of the human pressure on land is derived by physiological density. Thus, when compared with arithmetic density, physiological density is defined a method of calculating man-land ratio:

Source: NCERT

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