CBSE Class 8 SST Geography – Chapter 5: Human Resources

📚 VARDAAN NOTES

CBSE Class 8 · Geography

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Chapter 14: Human Resources

Population Distribution | Density | Composition

📝 Note on Chapter Numbering

In the NCERT Geography textbook, this is "Chapter 5". However, in our SST sequence, it is listed as Chapter 14.

📖 PART 1: People are the Greatest Resource

AI PROMPT FOR IMAGE: A colorful map of the world or a highly diverse group of thousands of people from different nations forming the shape of the global continents. This visually represents the sheer size and diversity of global "Human Resources" spread across the globe.

Nature's bounty becomes significant only when people find it useful. It is people with their demands and abilities that turn them into 'resources'. Hence, human resource is the ultimate resource. Healthy, educated, and motivated people develop resources as per their requirements.

🌍 PART 2: Distribution of Population

The pattern in which people are spread across the earth surface is known as the pattern of population distribution. The distribution is extremely uneven.

More than 90% of the world’s population lives in about 30% of the land surface.
Some areas are very crowded (South and South East Asia, Europe, and North Eastern North America), while others are sparsely populated (high altitudes, tropical deserts, high mountains, areas of equatorial forests).
Almost three-quarters of the world’s people live in two continents: Asia and Africa. (China and India are the world's most populous countries).

Density of Population

Population Density is the number of people living in a unit area of the earth’s surface. It is normally expressed as per square kilometre (sq km).

The average density of population in the whole world is 51 persons per sq km.
South Central Asia has the highest density of population, followed by East and South East Asia.

📍 PART 3: Factors Affecting Distribution of Population

Factor Category	Factors and Effects
Geographical Factors	Topography: People prefer living on plains rather than mountains/plateaus because plains are suitable for farming and manufacturing (e.g., Ganga plains are heavily crowded; Andes/Alps are sparsely populated). Climate: People avoid extreme climates (very hot/very cold like Sahara desert, Russian polar regions). Soil: Fertile soils provide good land for agriculture (e.g., Brahmaputra, Nile). Water & Minerals: Areas with abundant fresh water and mineral deposits attract more people (diamond mines in South Africa, oil in Middle East).
Social Factors	Areas of better housing, education, and health facilities are more densely populated (e.g., Pune).
Cultural Factors	Places with religion or cultural significance attract people (e.g., Varanasi, Jerusalem, Vatican City).
Economic Factors	Industrial areas provide employment opportunities. Large numbers of people are attracted to these areas (e.g., Osaka in Japan, Mumbai in India).

📈 PART 4: Population Change

Population change refers to change in the number of people during a specific time. For extremely long periods of human history, the population grew very slowly (due to diseases, poor medical facilities, insufficient food).

Population Explosion: In the 20th century, with better food supplies and medicine, deaths went down dramatically, while the number of births remained fairly high, causing explosive population growth.
Birth Rate: Measured as the number of live births per 1,000 people.
Death Rate: Measured as the number of deaths per 1,000 people.
Migration: Movement of people in and out of an area. Emigrants are people who leave a country. Immigrants are those who arrive in a country.

The difference between the birth rate and the death rate of a country is called the natural growth rate. The massive population increase is mainly due to the rapid decline in the death rate.

🧩 PART 5: Population Composition

AI PROMPT FOR IMAGE: A beautifully designed infographic of a Population Pyramid (Age-Sex Pyramid), shaped like a triangle for India (broad base, narrow top), showing blue bars for males and pink bars for females. Visual and distinctly labeled.

How crowded a country is has little to do with its level of economic development (both Bangladesh and Japan are densely populated, but Japan is highly developed). We need to study the composition of the population: their age, sex, literacy level, health, occupation, and income level.

The Population Pyramid (Age-Sex Pyramid)

This is a geographical tool used to study population composition. It shows:

The total population divided into various age groups (e.g. 5 to 9 years, 10 to 14 years).
The percentage of total population subdivided into males and females in each of those groups.
Shape Analysis:
- Broad at the base, narrow at the top: Indicates high birth rates and high death rates. Very few children reach adulthood (e.g., Kenya).
- Broad base, thick middle, narrow top: High birth rates, but falling death rates (especially in younger age groups). Indicates a young, growing workforce (e.g., India).
- Narrow base, narrow top, bulging middle: Low birth rates and low death rates. Represents a mature workforce with an aging population (e.g., Japan).

📌 Chapter Summary

Human Resource: People are the greatest resource of a nation. Education and health determine their quality.
Distribution & Density: Distribution is highly uneven, dictated by geography. Density indicates how tightly packed a unit area is (Asia is highly dense).
Factors of Location: People settle based on optimal Topography (plains), Climate, Soil, Water, and Economic prospects.
Population Change: Driven by Birth Rates, Death Rates (natural growth rate), and Migration. Rapid medical advancement has caused global population explosion by lowering death rates.
Population Pyramid: A graphical way to view age and sex composition. Shapes reveal birth/death rates and workforce dynamics (India has a broad base indicating a large youth demographic).