A situation in which a large cohort of women of reproductive age will fuel population growth over the next generation, even if each woman has fewer children than previous generations, is termed as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Population Momentum
Option (1) Population Momentum — Correct. When a large cohort of women is of reproductive age, the population keeps growing over the next generation even if each woman has fewer children, because so many women are having children at the same time.
Option (2) Dependency Ratio — Incorrect. The dependency ratio compares the dependents – children too young and elderly people too old to work – with the population of working age, 15 to 64 years. It measures the burden on workers, not growth carried forward by a large group of young women.
Option (3) The rate of natural increase. — Incorrect. The rate of natural increase, or growth rate, is the difference between the birth rate and the death rate. It tells how fast a population grows, not why it keeps growing when each woman has fewer children.
Option (4) Population Explosion — Incorrect. A population explosion is the very high growth of the transitional stage, when death rates fall quickly while birth rates stay high. The situation in the question is the reverse: each woman has fewer children, yet numbers still rise.
NCERT: Indian Society — Chapter 2: The Demographic Structure of the Indian Society (2025-26)
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