Question.
Discuss the spatial patterns of female literacy in India in 2011 and bring out the reasons responsible for it.
(NCERT class 12 geography, India People and Economy, Chapter-3: Human Development)
Answer.
According to the 2011 census, the total literacy rate in India is around 74.04 percent while the female literacy rate is around 65.46%.
India has wide regional disparities in both the overall literacy rate as well as the female literacy rate. The following are the spatial patterns of female literacy in India in the 2011 Census:
- The female literacy rate of all southern states like Kerala (91.98%), Tamil Nadu (73.86%), and Karnataka (68.13%) except Andhra Pradesh (59.74%) is higher than the national average female literacy rate (65.46%).
- The female literacy rate of most of the northern states like Bihar (53.33%), Rajasthan (52.66%), Orissa (64.36%), Chhattisgarh (60.59%), Madhya Pradesh (60.02%), Jharkhand (56.21%), Jammu and Kashmir (58.01%), and Uttar Pradesh (59.26) %), etc. is lower than the national female literacy rate (65.46%).
- The female literacy rate of all union territories except Dadra and Nagar Haveli (65.93%) is higher than the national average of India (65.46%).
- The female literacy rate of all northeastern states except Arunachal Pradesh (59.57%) is higher than India's average female literacy rate (65.46%).
- The female literacy rate in the northern Indian states is lower than the female literacy rate in the southern and northeastern states.
Reasons responsible for the above pattern:
- There is a relationship between literacy rate, population size, and level of socioeconomic development.
- The northern states have a larger population than the southern and northeastern states. Hence, their literacy rate is low.
- The northern states have low socioeconomic development as compared to the southern states and most of the northeastern states and hence have low literacy rates.
- Due to the small population size and high level of socio-economic development in the southern states, they have recorded higher female literacy rates as compared to other states.
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