40 practice questions on Settlements & Population from the Geography section of the UPSC Prelims syllabus.
40 come with a written explanation and 3 are actual previous year questions.
Try the sample set below - the answer stays hidden until you ask for it.
8 Easy18 Medium14 Hard3 from past papers
Sample questions
Q1
Previous year questionmedium
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:
A1, 2, 3
B2, 1, 3
C2, 3, 1
D3, 2, 1
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C - 2, 3, 1
The demographic transition model moves through sequential stages as a society develops. It begins with high birth rates and high death rates (stage 2 in the list), giving slow population growth. As sanitation, food supply and medicine improve, death rates fall while birth rates remain high (stage 3 in the list), producing the population explosion phase. Finally, with urbanisation, education and rising costs of child-rearing, birth rates also fall to match low death rates (stage 1 in the list), stabilising population. The correct chronological order is therefore 2, 3, 1; the other sequences misplace the high-growth phase relative to the early and mature stages.
Q2
Previous year questioneasy
Consider the following countries:
1. Italy
2. Japan
3. Nigeria
4. South Korea
5. South Africa
Which of the above countries are frequently mentioned in the media for their low birth rates, or ageing population or declining population?
A1, 2 and 4
B1, 3 and 5
C2 and 4 only
D3 and 5 only
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A - 1, 2 and 4
Italy, Japan and South Korea are the three countries routinely in the news for demographic decline. Italy has one of Europe's lowest fertility rates and a rapidly ageing population; Japan has experienced sustained population decline with one of the world's oldest populations; South Korea records the world's lowest total fertility rate (well below 1) and faces a shrinking workforce. Nigeria, by contrast, has one of the highest birth rates globally and a very young, fast-growing population, while South Africa also has a young and growing population, so neither is associated with ageing or decline. Therefore '1, 2 and 4' is correct; '2 and 4 only' wrongly excludes Italy, and the options including Nigeria or South Africa are wrong.
Q3
Previous year questionhard
Consider the following pairs:
Tribe : State
1. Limboo (Limbu) : Sikkim
2. Karbi : Himachal Pradesh
3. Dongaria Kondh : Odisha
4. Bonda : Tamil Nadu
Which of the above pairs are correctly matched?
A1 and 3 only
B2 and 4 only
C1, 3 and 4 only
D1, 2, 3 and 4
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A - 1 and 3 only
The Limboo (Limbu) are a tribe of Sikkim, so pair 1 is correct. The Dongaria Kondh, well known for the Niyamgiri agitation, are found in Odisha, so pair 3 is correct. The Karbi are a major tribe of Assam (Karbi Anglong), not Himachal Pradesh, so pair 2 is wrong. The Bonda are a particularly vulnerable tribal group of the Malkangiri district of Odisha, not Tamil Nadu, so pair 4 is wrong. Hence only pairs 1 and 3 are correctly matched.
Q4
medium
According to the rank-size rule of settlement geography proposed by G. K. Zipf, if the largest city of a country has a population of 80 lakh, the expected population of the fourth-ranked city would be approximately:
A20 lakh
B40 lakh
C8 lakh
D60 lakh
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A - 20 lakh
By the rank-size rule, the population of the nth-ranked city equals the population of the largest city divided by n. For the fourth city, population = 80 lakh / 4 = 20 lakh. This contrasts with the 'primate city' distribution, where one city dominates disproportionately and the rule does not hold.
Q5
medium
A 'primate city' in settlement geography refers to a city that:
AIs disproportionately larger than the second-ranking city and dominates the national urban hierarchy
BWas the earliest urban settlement to develop in a country
CServes purely as the administrative capital without economic functions
DHas a population exactly twice that of the next-largest city, as the rank-size rule predicts
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A - Is disproportionately larger than the second-ranking city and dominates the national urban hierarchy
A primate city is one that is far larger and more dominant than the second-largest city, concentrating a disproportionate share of a country's population, economy and functions (for example Bangkok or Lima). It is defined by dominance, not by being the oldest, by being merely administrative, or by an exact 2:1 ratio (that is a special case of the rank-size rule, which primacy departs from).
Q6
hard
Consider the following statements regarding demographic transition:
1. In the first stage, both birth rates and death rates are high, keeping the population growth low.
2. In the second stage, death rates fall rapidly while birth rates remain high, leading to a rapid increase in population.
3. In the final stage, both birth rates and death rates are low and the population stabilises.
How many of the above statements are correct?
AOnly one
BOnly two
CAll three
DNone
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C - All three
All three statements correctly describe the demographic transition model. Stage 1 (high stationary): high birth and high death rates yield low net growth. Stage 2 (early expanding): death rates drop due to improved medicine, sanitation and food while birth rates stay high, causing rapid population growth. Stage 3 / final stage (low stationary): both rates are low and population growth stabilises. Hence all three are correct.
Q7
easy
According to Walter Christaller's Central Place Theory, under the 'marketing principle' (k = 3), each higher-order central place serves an area equivalent to the trade areas of how many lower-order places, including a share of its own?
Ak = 3, equivalent to three lower-order trade areas
Bk = 4, equivalent to four lower-order trade areas
Ck = 7, equivalent to seven lower-order trade areas
Dk = 2, equivalent to two lower-order trade areas
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A - k = 3, equivalent to three lower-order trade areas
In Christaller's Central Place Theory, the marketing (or supply) principle gives k = 3: a central place, together with one-third share of each of its six surrounding lower-order places, serves an area equivalent to three lower-order trade areas, minimizing the number of central places needed to supply the region. The transport principle gives k = 4 and the administrative principle k = 7.
Q8
medium
Which of the following correctly describes the typical population pyramid of a country with high birth rates and high death rates, characteristic of an early stage of demographic transition?
AA wide base that narrows rapidly towards the top
BA narrow base widening towards the middle and an even narrower top
CA bell shape with nearly equal width across most age groups
DAn inverted pyramid with a narrow base and a broad top
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A - A wide base that narrows rapidly towards the top
An expansive population with high birth rates produces a pyramid with a very broad base reflecting large numbers of children, which then narrows rapidly upward because high death rates mean few people survive to old age. The narrow base widening to the middle describes a constrictive pyramid of an ageing population with declining births. The bell or near-stationary shape reflects a population approaching stability with low birth and death rates. An inverted pyramid would imply far more elderly than young, which is not the early-transition pattern.
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