The ratio of total population to net cultivated area is called _________ .
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Physiological Density
Option (1) Population Density — Incorrect. Density of population is the number of persons per unit of total area. It is a crude measure of the human-land relationship because it counts barren and forest land as well.
Option (2) Agricultural Density — Incorrect. Agricultural density divides only the agricultural population (cultivators, agricultural labourers and their families) by the net cultivable area, not the total population.
Option (3) Physiological Density — Correct. Physiological density = total population / net cultivated area. It shows the pressure of the whole population on the land that is actually cultivated.
Option (4) Geometric Density — Incorrect. ‘Geometric’ is a word from mathematics; the ratios that compare people with land are density, physiological density and agricultural density.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 21-05-2025 (Slot 1), and in CUET (UG) 2023 on 22-05-2023 (Slot 2).
NCERT: India - People and Economy — Chapter 1: Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition, physiological and agricultural density (box) (2025-26)
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