Download Dynamics of Population – NCERT Class 8 Social Science Chapter 13 PDF from the new NCERT Class 8 Social Science book Exploring Society: India and Beyond (2026-27). Read the chapter online or download the free PDF. Demography is the study of the composition of a human population — age, sex, education, occupation, religion — and of how it changes over time through births, deaths and the movement of people. Governments use it to plan schools, hospitals, roads,…
Dynamics of Population PDF – Chapter 13 of Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part II)
Read the chapter online or download the PDF.
| Chapter | Download | |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 13 PDF | Dynamics of Population | View PDF |
| Full book | NCERT Class 8 Social Science – Exploring Society: India and Beyond | View Book |
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What Is in Dynamics of Population? (Class 8 Social Science Chapter 13)
- Demography is the study of the composition of a human population — age, sex, education, occupation, religion — and of how it changes over time through births, deaths and the movement of people. Governments use it to plan schools, hospitals, roads, housing, water, energy and waste services; businesses use it to work out who their customers are. India’s census, held about every 10 years, is the official count.
- Four indicators drive everything else (Fig. 6.7): the birth rate (live births per 1,000 people in a year), the fertility rate (average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime), the death or mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 people in a year) and migration. A fertility rate of 2.1 is the replacement level: above it a population grows, below it it eventually shrinks.
- World population grew from 2.5 billion in 1950 to 8.2 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, peak at 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s and then decline. India’s population went from 361 million in 1951 to 1,460 million in 2025; in 2023 India passed China to become the most populous country, holding around 17 per cent of the world’s people.
- Countries pass through a demographic transition in three stages (Fig. 6.12): both rates high and growth slow; death rates fall first while births stay high, so growth is rapid; then births fall too and growth slows again. India was in Stage 1 from 1901–1921, grew rapidly after 1951, and since the mid-1980s its fertility has been falling — it is now below replacement level.
- India’s own indicators have improved sharply: child mortality fell from 271 per 1,000 in 1950 to 28 in 2023, life expectancy at birth rose from 30 years at Independence to 70 years in 2024, fertility fell from 5.7 in 1950 to 1.9 in 2025, and the sex ratio improved from 933 females per 1,000 males in 2001 to 943 in 2011.
- About 27 per cent of Indians are under 15 and nearly 65 per cent are in the working-age group of 15–59; India’s median age is 28 against Japan’s 50. This young age structure is India’s demographic dividend — but it is a limited window. The under-5 population peaked in 2007 and the under-15 population in 2011, and after 2050 India begins to move towards an older population.
Quick revision – Dynamics of Population
| Term | What it means | Where the chapter uses it | Number to remember |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demography | The study of the composition of a human population — age, sex, occupation, religion — and how it changes over time | “What Is Demography?”, p. 168 | Three components: size; structure and composition; pattern and trend (Fig. 6.2) |
| Census | The official count of everyone in a country at a particular time, recording age, gender, marital status, education, language, religion, occupation and income | DON’T MISS OUT, p. 169 | India conducts one about every 10 years |
| Birth rate | The number of live births per 1,000 people in a year | Fig. 6.7, p. 172 | Measured per 1,000 people, per year |
| Fertility rate | The average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime | “Birth and fertility rates”, p. 173 | India: 5.7 in 1950 → 1.9 in 2025 |
| Replacement level fertility | The fertility rate at which children exactly replace their parents, keeping the population stable | P. 173 | 2.1 — not 2.0 |
| Death or mortality rate | The number of deaths per 1,000 people in a year; child mortality counts deaths under age 5 per 1,000 live births | “Death or mortality rate”, p. 176 | India’s child mortality: 271 per 1,000 (1950) → 28 (2023) |
| Life expectancy at birth | The average number of years a newborn is expected to live under today’s health, safety and living conditions | P. 176 | India: 30 years at Independence → 70 years in 2024 |
| Migration | Movement of people from one place to another, within or outside a country, to settle temporarily or permanently | “Migration”, p. 176 | Grew Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru |
| Demographic transition | The three-stage sequence of birth and death rates a country passes through as it develops | Fig. 6.12, p. 177 | Stage 1 both high · Stage 2 deaths fall · Stage 3 births fall |
| Sex ratio | The number of females per 1,000 males in a population | “Improvement in India’s sex ratio”, p. 180 | 933 (Census 2001) → 943 (Census 2011); women were 48.5% of the population |
| Population pyramid | A graph of a population by age group and gender, males on one side and females on the other; also called a population structure diagram | Fig. 6.15, p. 181 | Wide base = young and growing; wide top = ageing |
| Demographic dividend | The economic growth potential of a nation resulting from a younger and productive age structure | P. 184 | Nearly 65% of Indians are 15–59; median age 28 against Japan’s 50 |
Old NCERT vs New – Class 8 Social Science
This chapter is from Exploring Society: India and Beyond, the new NCERT Class 8 Social Science book (NCF-SE 2023, used from 2025-26). It replaced the old book “Our Pasts, Resources and Development and Social and Political Life”, so chapter numbers and names differ from older PDFs.
Solutions and All Chapters
Answers to the exercises and the full chapter list of Exploring Society: India and Beyond:
Dynamics of Population – Overview
| Class | Class 8 |
| Subject | Social Science |
| Book | Exploring Society: India and Beyond – new NCERT book |
| Part | Part II |
| Chapter | 13 of 15 – Dynamics of Population |
| Book pages | Part II, 167 – 190 |
| Edition | NCERT Reprint 2026-27 |
| Session | 2026-27 |
| Free – read online or download |
Class 8 Social Science Chapter 13 – FAQs
Where can I download Dynamics of Population Class 8 PDF?
From the download table on this page – the chapter PDF is free, and the full book is linked too.
What is Class 8 Social Science Chapter 13 about?
Demography is the study of the composition of a human population — age, sex, education, occupation, religion — and of how it changes over time through births, deaths and the movement of people. Governments use it to plan schools, hospitals, roads, housing, water, energy and waste services; businesses use it to work out who their customers are. India’s census, held about every 10 years, is the official count.
Is Dynamics of Population from the new NCERT Class 8 Social Science book?
Yes. It is chapter 13 of exploring society: india and beyond (part ii), the new NCERT Class 8 Social Science book for 2026-27.
Is this the latest NCERT edition for 2026-27?
Yes – the PDF is NCERT’s latest edition for the 2026-27 session.
Where are the NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science Chapter 13?
Open the NCERT Solutions link above for answers to the exercise questions.