II. People and population general texts

India

In population figures India ranks second in the world after the People’s Republic of China. Current population of India in 2010 is around 1.19 billion people. By 2030, the population of India will be largest in the world estimated to be around 1.53 billion. There has been rapid increase in Indian population in the last 60 years. India`s population holds the common appellation of Indians, but it is composed of many nationalities speaking different tongues. The most widespread of the latter are the Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and Tamil languages.

The people inhabiting the southern part of the peninsula of Hindustan are distinguished by a darker skin and speak the Dravidian languages.

Hindi is the official language of the state. The English language is also widespread in India.

Already containing 17.31% of the world’s population, India is projected to be the world’s most populous country by 2025, surpassing China. The average density of population in India amounts to 250 people per 1 sq. km. The most densely populated regions are the valley of the Ganges and the Hindustani seaboard. In the valley of the Ganges there are over 900 people and in the south-eastern part (in Bengal) about 2000 people per 1 sq. km. The inner regions of the Deccan tableland are more sparsely peopled. There is hardly any population in the Thar Desert and in the higher regions of the Himalayas.

The growth rate in the country is 1.54%, with 22 births and 6.4 deaths per 1000 people. Fertility rate is 2.72, while infant mortality rate is still high reaching 30.15 per 1000. Life expectancy is about 70 years – about 73 years for females and over 67 years for males.

Over 70% of India`s population live in the countryside and are engaged mainly in agricultural pursuits. There are many handicraftsmen among the urban population. The industrial development of the country results in an ever increasing number of workers employed in the factory industry. Indian villages are populous; they, for the most part, consist of huts built of bamboo and reed in damper regions and of clay and straw in drier once. India’s urban population totaling to 27.8% live in more than 5100 towns.

India has more than 2000 ethnic groups, and every major religion is represented, as are four major families of languages (Indo-European, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burmese). Only the continent of Africa exceeds the linguistic, genetic and cultural diversity of the nation of India.

Exercises

I. Match the words in the first list with what is given in the second:

average to amount to seaboard handicraftsman pursuit ru­ral densely populated to result in

holding a position between two extremes to equal sea-coast man skil­led in weaving, woodwork, etc. to reach not of a city or town thickly peopled to bring about

II. Give the English equivalents of the following words and phrases:

плотный, средний, общий (удел, согласие, дело), городской, густо населенный, сельский, малонаселенный, беспрестанно воз­растающий;

берег моря (побережье, приморье), плотность, занятие, хи­жина, ремесло, тростник (камыш), солома, глина, уровень рождаемости, уровень смертности, рост населения, продолжительность жизни;

составлять (доходить до, равняться), занимать второе ме­сто, быть известным под общим названием «индийцы», характе­ризоваться (отличаться) чем-либо, кончаться (иметь результа­том), на 1 кв. км, быть занятым (заниматься) чем-либо.