Class 12 Geog - Gist-Human Geography

NCERT Class 12- Human Geography gist –
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Chapter 1- Human Geography (nature and scope)
Nature of Human Geography
 Human Geography studies the inter-relationship between the physical environment and
socio- cultural environment created by human beings through mutual interaction with each
other.
 The elements like villages, cities, road-rail networks, etc and all other elements of material
culture have been created by human beings using the resources provided by the physical
environment. Thus, In the saying of Ellen Semple “Human geography is a study of changing
relationship between unresting man and unstable earth”.
Naturalisation of Humans and Humanisation of Nature
 Humans interact with their physical environment with the help of technology. This indicates
the level of cultural development.
 The interaction of primitive societies with the physical environment is termed as

environmental determinism which is naturalisation of humans.
 With the development of technology, humans began to modify nature and created cultural
landscape. This is called possiblism or humanisation of nature.
 A middle path of neo determinism was introduced by Griffith Taylor which means that
neither is there a situation of absolute necessity (environmental determinism) nor is there a
condition of absolute freedom (possibilism).
History of Human Geography
 The emergence of human geography started with the interaction, adaptation, adjustment
and modification between the humans and the environment.
 Before the age of discovery, there was very little interaction between different societies but
in the late 15th Century information about the unknown societies were made available now.
Exploration by travellers expanded the area of human geography and interacted with
different societies.
 With this, new approaches can across like welfare or humanistic school of thought, radical
school of thought and behavioural school of thought.
Field and Sub-fields of Human Geography
 Human geography is inter-disciplinary in nature and develops vast linkages with other sister
disciplines in social sciences.
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 The fields and sub-fields of human geography explains every aspect of all elements of human
life on the surface of the earth.
Human Geography and Sister Disciplines of Social Sciences
Chapter 2 - The World Population

Patterns of Population Distribution
 Population distribution means arrangement distribution of people over the earth’s surface.
Population is not evenly distributed as 90 percent of the world’s population lives in about 10
percent of its land area.

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 The 10 most populous countries of the world contribute about 60 per cent of the world’s
population. Out of these 10 countries, 6 are located in Asia.
Density of Population
 This means the ratio between the number of people to the size of the land. It is usually
measured in persons per sq km density of population/area. Some areas are densely
populated like North-Eastern USA, North-Western Europe, South, South-West and East Asia.
 Some areas are sparsely populated like near the polar areas and high rainfall zones near the
equator while some areas have medium density like Western China, Southern India, Norway,
Sweden, etc.
Factors Influencing Population Distribution
The population distribution is influenced by three factors i.e., geographical factors, economic factors
and social and cultural factors.
Geographical Factors
Environmental or natural factors such as landforms, fertile soil, suitable climate for cultivation and
availability of adequate source of fresh water are the geographical factors that affect the population
distribution. Some geographical factors are:
Land Forms Flat Plains and gentle slopes are preferred by people, because these are favorable for
the production of crops and to build roads and industries.
Climate Area with less seasonal variation attract more people.

Soil Area which have fertile loamy soil have more people living on them as these can support
intensive agriculture.
Water People prefer to live in areas where fresh water is easily available. Because, it is the most
important factor for life.
Economic Factors
Places having employment opportunities like 1 mineral rich areas, industrial units and urban centres
have high concentration of population. Some economic factors are:
Industrialisation Industries provide job opportunities and attract large numbers of ‘ people.
Minerals Minerals deposits attract industries 1 mining and industrial activities generate
employment.
Urbanisation Good civic amenities and the attention of city life draw people to the cities.
Social and Cultural Factors
Places having religious importance and cultural significance are also very densely populated areas.

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Population Growth
This refers to the change in number of inhabitants of a territory during a specific period of time.
When change in population is expressed in percentage, then it is called Growth Rate of Population.
When there is an increase in population by taking the difference between births and deaths, then it
is called Natural Growth of Population. There is also Positive Growth of Population which happens
when birth rate is more than death rate and Negative Growth of Population when birth rate is lower
than death rate.
Components of Population Change
There are three components of population change i.e., births, deaths and migration.
Crude Birth Rate [CBR]
Number of births in a year per thousand of population is expressed as Crude Birth Rate (CBR). It is
calculated as:
Here, Bi= live Births during the year; P = Mid year population of the area.
Crude Death Rate (CDR)
Number of deaths in a year per thousand of population is expressed as Crude Death Rate (CDR). It is
calculated as:
Here, D= Number of Deaths; P= Estimated mid-year population of that year.
Migration
It is movement of people across region on permanent, temporary or seasonal basis. The place they
move is called place of origin and the place they move to is called place of destination.
Push and Pull Factors of Migration
The Push factors make the place of origin seem less attractive for reasons like unemployment, poor
living conditions, political turmoil, unpleasant climate, natural disasters, epidemics and socio-
economic backwardness.
The Pull factors make the place of destination seem more attractive than the place of origin for
reasons like better job opportunities and living condition eace and stability, security of life and
property and pleasant climate.
Trends in Population Growth

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 Trends show that initially growth of population was very slow but after the improvement in
Science and Technology, there had been tremendous growth in population which is called
population explosion.
 About 8000 to 12000 years ago world population was 8 million and now it has reached to 7
billion.
 In every 12 years, 1 billion people are added. Increased agriculture and industrial
production, inoculation against epidemics, improvement in medical facilities have reduced
death rates.
Doubling Time of World Population
 Developed countries are taking more time to double their population as compared to
developing countries.
 Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Liberia, Yemen have high population growth rates while Latvia,
Estonia, Russia, Germany, etc have low growth rates.
Spatial Pattern of Population Change
 The world population growth rate is 1.4%, it is highest in Africa i.e. 2.6% and lowest in
Europe i.e. 0.0% means neither grow nor decline.
 So even when a small annual rate is applied to very large population, it will lead to a large
population change. There is negative correlation between economic development and
population growth.
Impact of Population Change
High increase in population leads to problems like depletion of natural resources, unemployment
and scarcity. Decline in population indicates that resources are insufficient to maintain a population.
Demographic Transition Theory
This theory studies the changes in the population of a region as it moves from high births and high
deaths to low births and low deaths. This happens when a society progresses from rural agrarian and
illiterate to urban, industrial and literate.
There are three-staged model of Demographic Transition Theory. They are:
First Stage
 This stage is marked by high fertility high mortality rate because people reproduce more to
compensate for the deaths due to epidemics and variable food supply.

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 People are poor, illiterate and mostly engaged in agriculture. Life expectancy is low and
population growth is slow.
Second Stage
 Level of technology increases and other facilities like medical, health, sanitation improves
due to which the death rate reduces.
 But the fertility rate and birth rate remains high due to which there is huge rise in
population. Population expands rapidly as there is wide gap between birth and death rate.
Third Stage
 The birth and death rate both reduces and the population moves towards stability.
 People become literate, urbanised and control the size of the family. There is good judicious
use of technology also.
Population Control Measures
 Family planning is the spacing and preventing the birth of children. Thomas Malthus theory
(1793) states that the number of people would grow faster than the food supply thus
leading to famine, diseases and war.
 Therefore, it is essential to control the population. This is undertaken through measures like
awareness for family planning, free availability of contraceptives, tax disincentives and
active propaganda.
Chapter 3 - Population Composition

Sex Composition
 Sex composition refers to the number of men and women in a country. It is taken out as a
sex ratio which is the ratio between the number of men and women. It is calculated by the
formula:
 Sex ratio in the world is 990 females per 1000 males’with highest in Latvia (1187 females per
1000 males) and lowest in UAE (468 females per 1000 males).
 The sex ratio is unfavourable in 72 countries of the world as there is gender discrimination
leading to female foeticide, female infanticide as well as low economic status of women.

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 In general, Asian countries like China, India have low sex ratio while European countries have
higher sex ratio.
Age Structure
The age structure of a population refers to the number of people of different age groups. It is
divided into three groups i.e. children (0-14 years), adult or working population (15-59 years) and old
or ageing population (60 years and above).
Age-sex Pyramid
The age-sex pyramid refers to the number of females and males in different age groups. The
characteristic of a population is shown by population pyramid. The pyramid is interpreted in the
following ways:
Expanding Population A triangular pyramid with a wide base due to high birth rate is mostly in less
developed countries like Nigeria, Mexico and Bangladesh.
Constant Population A bell shaped pyramid and tapered towards the top shows almost equal birth
and death rates like in Australia.
Declining Population A pyramid with narrow base and top wife a wider central part shows low birth
and death rates. This is in developed countries like Japan.
Rural Urban Composition
 The division of rural and urban areas based on residence, indicates the pattern of
occupations and social conditions. People are predominantly engaged in primary activities in
rural areas while in urban areas majority of working population is engaged in non-primary
activities.
 In developed countries like Canada, West European countries, females outnumber males in
urban areas while in developing countries like Nepal and Pakistan, it is vice versa.
Literacy
 Level of literate population of a country indicates the standard of living, social status of
females, availability of educational facilities.
 In India literacy rate is the percentage of population above 7 years who are able to read,
write and do arithmetic calculations.
Occupational Structure
 This is proportional distribution of working population (age group 15 to 59) in various

occupations. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining are classified under primary activities.
 Manufacturing as secondary activity, transport, communication and other services as

tertiary and jobs related to research and developing ideas are quaternary activities. In

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developed economics more number of people are engaged in secondary, tertiary and
quaternary sector than primary.
Chapter 4 - Human Development

Growth and Development
 Growth and development refers to changes over a period of time but the difference
between growth and development is that growth is quantitative but development is
qualitative. Therefore, development is always positive.
 Development cannot take place unless there is an increment or addition to the existing
conditions, but growth can be positive, negative or neutral, positive growth does not always
led to development.
 Development occurs when there is a positive change in qualities. Earlier economic growth
and development of country was seen as one but now they are studied separately.
Human Development
 This concept was introduced by Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq in 1990. Human development is

described as that which enlarges people’s choices and improves their lives, thus creating
conditions where people can lead meaningful lives.
 This means that people develop talent, participate in society and be free to achieve their
goals. According to Prof. Amartya Sen, the main objective of development is an increase in
freedom. Freedom to make choices brings development, and social and political institutions
play a major role in increasing freedom.
 Building people capabilities in health, education and equal access to resources increases
freedom and enlarges choices.
Four Pillars of Human Development
The idea of human development is supported by the concepts of the following four pillars of
development:
Equity It refers to equal access to opportunities available to everybody irrespective to their gender,
race, income and caste.
Sustainability It means continuity in the availability of opportunities so that future generations can
even use the present resources.
Productivity It means human labour which must be enriched by building capabilities in people.
Empowerment It means having the power to make choices which is possible by increasing freedom
and capability.

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Approaches to Human Development
There are four ways of looking at or approach the problems of human development. Some of the
important approaches are:
Income Approach This approach links the development to incomes as it believes that income
determines the level of freedom that one enjoys.
Welfare Approach Under this approach, government is responsible for providing basic facilities like
health, education and amenities to people.
Basic Needs Approach In this approach, emphasis is on providing six basic needs i.e. health,
education, food, water supply, ” sanitation and housing.
Capability Approach This approach is associated with Prof. Amartya Sen and aims to build human
capabilities in health, education and-access to resources in order to increase human development.
Measuring Human Development
Following are the ways of measuring human development
Human Development Index
 Human development is measured through Human Development Index (HDI) which ranks the
countries between 0 to 1 based on their performance in the key areas of health, education
and access to resources.
 It is the sum total of the weights assigned to health, education and access to resources.
Indicator to access health is life expectancy at birth, to access knowledge it is adult literacy
rate and gross enrollment ratio and resources are measured in terms of purchasing power
Human Poverty Index
This index measures the shortfall in human development. The index is based on the probability of
not surviving till 40, adult literacy rate, people not having access to clean drinking water and number
of underweight children.
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 1990, publishes the Human
Development Report by measuring the Human Development Index and Human Poverty Index.
Gross National Happiness
This is Gross National Happiness (GNH) which is another measure of accessing human development
and Bhutan is the only country in the world to measure the country’s progress through GNH. The
GNH encourages the qualitative aspect of development.
International Comparisons

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 On comparing the human development of different countries, it is revealed that the size of
the territory and per capita income are not directly related to human development.
 For comparisons, the countries are classified into four groups on the basis of human
development scores earned by them.
Very High Level of Human Development
 The countries scoring above 0.802 are categorised under it. There are 49 countries in this
group.
 Top ten countries with very high value index are Norway, Australia, Netherlands, United
States, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Germany and Sweden.
 The countries in this group provide education and healthcare which is an important
government priority as well as invest a lot in the social sector.
High Level of Human Development
 Countries scoring between 0.702 and 0.801 are grouped under it. They are 56 in number.
 Good governance and lot of investment in social sector has led to high level of human
development in these countries.
Medium Level of Human Development
 Countries scoring between 0.555 and 0.701 are grouped under it and there are 39 countries
in this group. ‘
 Many of these countries were former colonies and are facing political instability as well as
high social diversity.
Low Level of Human Development
 Countries scoring below 0.554 are grouped under it and there are 44 countries in it. These
countries are going through political turmoil, social instability, civil war, famine or high
incidence of diseases.
 Internal comparisons reveal that the culture, religion or community are non-determinants of
human development. Rather, pattern of government expenditure on the social sector,
political environment, amount of freedom people have and the distribution of resources
play a decisive role in the level of human development.
Chapter 5 - Primary Activities

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Hunting and Gathering
 Hunting and gathering are the oldest primitive activities of man. Early man lived in forests
and sustained his life by hunting animals. He has also been gathering various products from
the forests to satisfy his needs in early days. Thus, early men sustained on edible plants
which they hunted and edible plants which they gathered from the forests.
 Early human beings practised these activities with the help of primitive tools, made of
stones, twigs or arrows, so the number of animals killed was limited. But now modem
equipments led to the widespread poaching of animals due to which hunting is declared
illegal.
 Gathering is practised in high latitude zones oi North Canada, Northern Eurasia and Southern
Chile, low latitude zones of Amazon Basin, tropical Africa, interiors of South-East Asia. This
activity requires small capital investment and low level of technology. Valuable plants,
leaves, bark, etc are collected and after simple processing they are sold in local markets.
These products cannot compete the world market as synthetic products are lower in price
and of better quality.
Pastoralism
 This means domestication and rearing of animals on pastures. This is carried either at
subsistence level known as nomadic herding or at commercial level known as commercial
livestock rearing.
Nomadic Herding
 Also called pastoral nomadism, it is a primitive activity where herders move with their
livestock from one place to another in search of food and water. They rely on animals for
food, clothing, shelter, tools and transport.
 Depending on geographical factors different animals are reared in different regions like
cattle in tropical Africa, sheep, goat and camel in Sahara, Asiatic deserts, Yak, llamas in Tibet
and Andes, reindeer in Arctic and Sub-Arctic areas. Other areas include Mongolia, Central
China, Eurasia, South-West Africa and Madagascar.
Commercial Livestock Rearing

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 This practise is associated with western culture, it is more organised and capital intensive.
This activity is done on vast ranches that are permanent.
 Modem scientific technology with emphasis on breeding, genetic improvement, disease

control and health care is done. Production of meat, wool, hides is done and exported to
different world markets.
 Sheep, cpttle, goat and horses are reared in the ranches. Australia, New- Zealand, Argentina,
Uruguay, South-West Africa, Western United States and Central Asia are major centers of
commercial livestock rearing.
Agriculture
Agriculture is practised under multiple combinations of physical and socio- economic conditions,
which gives rise to different types of agriculture systems.
Based on methods of farming, different type of crops are grown and livestock raised. The following
are the main agricultural systems:
Subsistence Agriculture
In this type of agriculture, farmers consume all or nearly all of the produce as the size of the farm is
very small. It can be divided into primitive subsistence agriculture and intensive subsistence
agriculture.
Primitive Subsistence Agriculture This is widely practised in tropical areas of Africa/South, Central
America and South-East Asia. Different names are given to it in different places like Milpa, Jhuming,
Ladang. It is also called slash and bum agriculture or shifting agriculture. Cultivation is done through
primitive tools by clearing a patch of land. After 3 to 5 years, when the soil loses its fertility then new
land is cleared for cultivation.
Intensive Subsistence Agriculture This type of agriculture is practised in densely populated regions
of monsoon Asia. This type of cultivation is either dominated by wet paddy cultivation and crops
other than paddy. The per unit area is high but productivity is low as land holdings are small due to
high density of population, less use of machines, family labour involved and farm yard manures are
used. Crops other than paddy are wheat, soybean, barley, sorghum grown in Northern China,
Manchuria, North Korea and Japan. In India, it is practised in Indo-Gangetic plains, dry parts of
Western and Southern India.
Plantation Agriculture
This type of agriculture was introduced by the Europeans like cocoa and coffee in West Africa by
French, Tea in India and Sri Lanka, rubber in Malaysia, sugarcane and banana in West Indies by
British, coconut, sugarcane in Philippines by Spanish, etc.
Here, agriculture is done on large estates or plantations, requires huge capital investment and
scientific methods of cultivation.
Extensive Commercial Grain Cultivation

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 This is practised in the interiors of semi-arid parts of mid latitudes like Eurasian steppes,
Canadian and American Prairies, Pampas of Argentina, velds of South Africa, Australian
Downs and Canterbury plains of New Zealand.
 Crops like wheat, corn, barley, oats and rye are grown. Agriculture is mechanised as farms
are very large. There is low yield per acre but high yield per person.
Mixed Farming
 This is practised in North-Western Europe, Eastern-North America, parts of Eurasia and

temperate latitudes of Southern continents. Here crop cultivation along with animal
husbandry is practised. Crops like wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, fodder and root crops
along with the rearing of farm animals like cattle, sheep, pig, poultry is done to provide extra
income.
 There is crop rotation and inter cropping along with high capital expenditure on farm inputs.
Dairy Farming
 It is practised near urban and industrial centers of North-Western Europe, Canada, South-
Eastern Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. It is highly capital intensive due to cost of
feeding, milching machines, animal sheds, storage facilities, veterinary services, etc.
 It is also labour intensive as rigorous care of I animals is also needed. There is no off seasonr
during the year as in case of crop raising.
Mediterranean Agriculture
It is practised on either side of Mediterranean in Europe, North Africa from Tunisia to Atlantic coast,
Southem-Califomia, some i parts of Chile, South-Western parts of South Africa and South-Western
parts of Australia. It is highly specialised commercial agriculture and important supplier of citrus
fruits.
Viticulture
This refers to cultivation of grapes in the Mediterranean regions. Inferior grapes are made into
raisins and currants while superior grapes are processed into wines. Figs and olives are also
cultivated.
Market Gardening and Horticulture
 It is practised in highly developed and

industrial regions of North-West Europe, North-East United States and Mediterranean
regions. Netherlands specialises in cultivation of Tulip flowers.
 This type of cultivation refers to high value crops like vegetables, fruits and flowers solely for
urban markets. Farms are small and mechanised. It is both capital and labour intensive.

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Truck Farming
This refers to the specialisation in the cultivation of vegetables only. The distance between the farms
and urban markets can be covered through trucks overnight, hence its name is known as ‘truck
farming.’
Factory Farming
This refers to livestock rearing mainly poultry and cattle. This is capital intensive, requires
maintenance, supervisation and scientific breeding. It is practised in industrial regions of Europe and
North America.
Co-operative Farming
Under this farming group of farmers form a co-operative society by pooling their resources
voluntarily for more efficient and profitable farming. There is help from societies in buying and
selling farm products. Individual farms remain intact. It is practised in Denmark, Netherlands,
Belgium, Sweden and Italy.
Collected Farming
 It is based on social ownership of the means of production and collective labour. Here
farmers pool their resources, though they are allowed to keep a small part with themselves.
 Produce is sold to state at prefixed prices. Members paid according to the nature of work
done. It was practised first in Kelkhoz in erstwhile Soviet Union.
Mining
It refers to the extraction of mineral resources from the Earth. Its development began with the
industrial revolution.
Factors affecting Mining Activity

There are two factors that affect the mining activity. These are:
1. Physical factors related to size, grade and mode of occurrence of the deposits.
2. Economic factors related to demand for mineral, technology, capital to develop

infrastructure, labour and transport cost.
Methods of Mining
It is of two types i.e. surface and underground mining. Surface of open cast mining occurs close to
the surface, it is easiest and cheapest. The other is underground mining in which minerals are
extracted from very deep mines using vertical shafts. It requires lifts, drills and very efficient
technology.
The developed economies are retreating from mining due to high labour cost while developing
economies are becoming major exporters of minerals due to their large labour force and striving for
better standard of living.

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Chapter 6 - Secondary Activities

Manufacturing
The literally meaning of manufacturing is to make by hand, but in the present context, the
manufacturing means the conversion of raw material into more useful and valuable fabricated
articles with the help of machines.
Manufacturing Industries
These are geographically located manufacturing units that transform raw materials into finished
goods of higher value for sale in local or distant markets. The term industry is comprehensive and
can also be used in many secondary activities which are not carried on in factories like
entertainment industry, tourism industry, etc.
The manufacturing industries are characterised by the following:
 Specialisation of Skills In industries, one task is done repeatedly that gives specialisation of
doing that task. This involves high cost of manufacturing. On the other hand, mass
production involves production of large quantity of standardised parts by each worker
performing only one task repeatedly.
 Mechanisation The industries use automated processes or machines which does the major
production. Human thinking is not required in mechanisation.
 Technological Innovation Latest technology is used and constant innovation is done to

eliminate waste, quality control, combat pollution and bring efficiency.
 Organisational Structure and Stratification Modern manufacturing is characterised by

complex machine technology, extreme specialisation, division of labour, vast capital, large
organisations and executive bureaucracy.
 Uneven Geographic Distribution The industries are concentrated in regions that are rich in
mineral and other resources. These areas cover less than 10% of the world’s land area.
These regions have become the major centres of economic and political power.
Location of industry
The location of industry at a particular place is governed by a large number of geographical and non-
geographical factors. Industries maximise profits by reducing costs. Thus, industries should be
located at points where the production costs are minimum. Following factors influence the location
of industry at particular places:
 Access to Market Areas that provide large markets for finished industrial goods like
developed areas of Europe, America, Japan, Australia, South Asia have huge concentration
of industries.

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 Access to Sources of Energy Coal, petroleum and hydroelectricity are main sources of
energy. Industries using more power are located close to these sources.
 Access to Raw Material Industries based on cheap, bulky and weight-losing materials (ores)
like steel, sugar are based close to sources of raw materials. Similarly, processing of dairy
products, perishable foods and agro based are done near the sources of raw materials.
 Access to Labour Supply Industries are located where there is availability of skilled labour.
Some types of manufacturing still require skilled labour.
 Acccess to Source of Energy Industries which use more power are located nearer to the
source of energy supply such as iron and steel industries. Energy is most essential to run
machines in industries. The main power resources are coal, petroleum, hydroelectricity,
natural gas and nuclear energy.
 Access to Transportation and Communication Facilities Industries are located in places that
have efficient transportation facilities and communication services for the exchange and
management of information.
 Access to Agglomeration Economies Agglomeration economies refer to the benefits derived

from the linkages that exist between different industries. The small industries or ancillary
units like to operate near leader industries to benefit from nearness to big or basic
industries.
 Government Policy For the balanced economic development, governments promote various
regions by setting up industries in a particular link between industrial areas.
Classification of Manufacturing Industries

Industries are classified on the basis of their size, inputs/ raw materials, output/ products and
ownership.
Industries Based on Size

Based on amount of capital invested, a number of workers employed and volume of production,
industries are classified into the following:
Household Industries or Cottage Manufacturing It is the smallest manufacturing unit. Artisans use
local raw materials, simple tools and production is done with the help of family members.
Production is done for local consumption and local markets. There is not much capital needed, e.g.
mats, baskets, pottery, jewellery, artefacts and crafts.
Small Scale Manufacturing These type of industries employ semi-skilled labour, operate by power
driven machines, use local raw materials and manufacture products in workshops. It provides
employment and raises local purchasing power. India, China, Indonesia and Brazil have developed
labour intensive small scale manufacturing units.

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Large Scale Manufacturing Here mass production takes place, involves large market, many raw
materials, huge energy requirements, specialised workers, advanced technology and large capital.
Large scale manufacturing industries are divided into two parts i.e. Traditional large scale industrial
regions and Higlr technology large scale industrial regions.
Industries Based on Inputs/Raw Materials

On the basis of raw materials used, industries are classified as follow:
 Agro based Industry This involves processing of raw materials from the fields and farms into
finished products like sugar, fruit juices, beverages, oils and textiles (cotton, jute, silk),
rubber, etc.
 Food Processing This is part of agro based industry and includes processes like canning,
producing cream, fruit processing, confectionery, drying, fermenting and pickling.
 Agri Business This is commercial farming on an industrial scale. The farms are mechanised,
very large and highly structured, like tea plantation and tea factories near the plantations.
 Mineral based Industry These are industries that use minerals as raw materials such as
ferrous like iron and steel and non-ferrous like aluminium, copper, etc. Mineral based non-
metallic industries are of cement and pottery.
 Chemical based Industry These industries use natural chemical minerals like salts, sulphur,
potash, mineral oil in petrochemical industry and chemicals obtained from wood and coal.
Synthetic fiber and plastics are other examples of chemical based industry.
 Forest based Industry Industries that use forest products such as timber, wood, bamboo,
grass, lac, etc come under forest based industry.
 Animal based Industry Industries that use animal products such as leather, woollen textiles,
ivory are grouped under animal based industry.
Industries based on Output/ Product

This refers to industries based on the finished products or output. These are:
1. Basic Industries These are the industries that produce raw material to be used in other
industries such as iron and steel.
2. Consumer Goods Industries These are the industries which produces what is consumed by
consumers directly such as tea, biscuits, toiletries, etc.
Industries based on Ownership

Based on the ownership, the industries are grouped as:

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 Public Sector Industry This refers to industries that are owned and managed by government.
In India, it is called public sector undertakings. Socialist economies have all state owned
industries.
 Private Sector Industry This refers to industries that are owned by private individuals and
also managed by them. Capitalist economies have mostly private owned industries.
 Joint Sector Industry Industries that are jointly owned and managed by joint stock
companies or established by private and government sector are called joint sector
industries.
Foot Loose Industries

These industries do not depend on any specific raw material so they can be located at any place.
They largely depend on component parts, employ small labour force and produce in small quantity.
Traditional Large Scale Industrial Regions

Traditional large scale industries are mostly heavy industries located near coal fields and involved in
metal smelting, heavy engineering, chemical manufacturing or textile production. Their features are
high employment, high density of housing but poor services, unattractive environment, pollution
and waste heaps. Due to these problems, many industries are closed leading to unemployment,
emigration and wastelands.
The Ruhr Coal Field, Germany
 This area was a major industrial region due to coal and iron-ore deposits. But the industry
started shrinking as demand of coal declined, iron-ore exhausted, industrial waste and
pollution increased.
 Now a New Ruhr landscape has emerged that focusses on other products like Opel car
assembly plant, new chemical plants, universities and out of town shopping centres.
High Technology Industry
 Also called high-tech industry, it is highly technical and incorporates advanced scientific and
engineering research and development strategy.
 The workforce are highly skilled specialists, professionals (known as white collar) who
outnumber the production labour (blue collar).
 Robotics, computer aided design and manufacturing, electronics, new chemicals and
pharmaceuticals are examples of these industries.

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Iron and Steel Industry
 It is known as basic industry as it provides raw materials or base to other industries. It is also
called heavy industry due to its bulky raw material and heavy finished products.
 These industries are located near the source of raw materials i.e. iron ore, coal, manganese
and limestone or near ports where it could be early brought.
Distribution
This industry is spread in developed and developing countries such as America, UK, Germany,
France, Belgium, Ukraine, Japan, China and India (Jamshedpur, Durgapur, Raurkela, etc.)
Cotton Textile Industry

This industry has three sub-sectors:
1. Handloom This is labour intensive, employs semi-skilled workers, requires small capital and
involves processes like spinning, weaving and finishing of the fabrics.
2. Powerloom This is less labour intensive, uses of machines and production is more.
3. Mill Sector This is highly capital intensive, requires good quality raw cotton and produces in
bulk.
India, China, USA, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Egypt produce more than half of world’s raw
cotton. Now the cotton textile industry is shifting to less developed countries due to labour
cost.
Chapter 7 - Tertiary and Quaternary Activities

Types of Tertiary Activities
There are four types of tertiary activities. They are trade, transport, communication and services.
These include provision of services in exchange of payments.

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Trade and commerce
Trade and commerce is essentially buying and selling of items produced elsewhere. The collection
and distribution points where trading takes place are called trading centres. These centres are
divided into:
 Rural Marketing Centres They are quasi urban and cater to local needs and areas. Most of
these have mandis (wholesale markets) and retail markets. In rural areas, there are periodic
markets that may be weekly or bi-weekly and people from the nearby areas meet their
demands. These markets are held on specified dates and shopkeepers move from one place
to another.
 Urban Marketing Centres These markets sell ordinary as well as specialised goods and
services, e.g. markets for labour, housing, semi or finished products. Services of educational
institutions and professionals like teachers, doctors, lawyers also develop.
 Retail Trading In this type of trading, goods are directly sold to consumers. This trading is
done through fixed establishments or stores, small shops, consumer cooperatives, big
departmental stores and chain stores. The chain stores buy commodities in bulk and then
hire skilled specialists for executive tasks. Street peddling, handcarts, trucks, door-to-door,
mail order, telephone and Internet are examples of non-store retail trading.
 Wholesale Trading Here bulk buying takes place directly from the manufacturer by
numerous intermediary merchants. The merchants/ wholesalers extend credit to retailers.
Transport
Transport is a tertiary activity in which people, materials and manufactured goods are physically
carried from one place to another. While selecting the mode of transport, distance, time and cost
are seen.. Distance can be measured as km distance, time taken to travel particular route as time
distance, expense of travelling on a route as cost distance.
Factors Affecting Transport

Demand and routes are two major factors which affect transport services.
 Demand Transport depends on the size of population and standard of living of people. The
larger the population size, the greater is the demand for transport.
 Route It refers to the transport network depend on location of cities, towns, villages,
industrial centres, availability of raw materials, nature of landscape, type of climate,
availability of funds, etc.
Network
A network is a well developed transport system that is made up of nodes and links. A node is a
meeting point of two or more routes and every road that joins any two nodes is called a link.

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Communication
Communication services involve in the transmission of words, messages, facts and ideas. The
development of transport facilitated communication as messages were carried by hand, animals,
boat, road, rail and air. But new technology has made communication independent of transport,
such as mobiles, telephony and satellites. Some of the communication services are discussed below:
 Telecommunications The development of modem technology has revolutionised

communication and it has become direct and instantaneous, e.g. telegraph, morse code and
telex in last century and now satellites, mobile, telephony, etc are used.
 Mass Media Communication means through which messages could be sent to vast
audiences around the world are called mass media, e.g. radio, television, newspapers, etc.
The Internet has revolutionised the global communication.
Services
There are different levels at which services are provided and availed. Some are meant for industry,
some for people, and some for both industry and people i.e., transport. Services can be divided into
three sub-categories. They are:
 Low Order Services It includes common and widespread services like grocery shops,
laundries, etc.
 Domestic Services It includes housekeepers, cooks and gardeners which migrate from rural
areas in search of employment.
 High Order Services These are specialised and less common like accountants, consultants
and physicians. Some services are supervised and/or regulated by government like making,
maintaining highways, bridges, fire fighting departments, education, healthcare, etc.
Thus, services are present in organised sector that is government owned or big corporations. Some
are present in unorganised sector like low order and domestic services. Mumbai’s dabbawala in
India is one such service of unorganised sector.
People Engaged in Tertiary Activities

Earlier more number of people were employed in t he primary and secondary sector as these sectors
provided more jobs. But, now there has been a shift of jobs to tertiary or service sector. In
developed countries, a higher percentage of workers are employed in providing services as
compared to less developed countries.
Some Selected Examples

Some of the selected examples that are related to the people engaged in tertiary activities are as
follows: %
Tourism
Tourism is part of service sector that refers to travel undertaken for purpose of recreation rather
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than business. This industry generates jobs as people are engaged in providing accommodation,
meals, transport, entertairment, infrastructure retail trading and crafts.
Tourist Regions
 Tourism can be seasonal or throughout the year like warmer places around the
Mediterranean coast, West coast of India during winters, mountains in summers or winter
spots regions found mainly in mountainous areas.
 Historic towns, religious places, heritage sites offer tourism throughout the year. Factors
Affecting Tourism
 The rise in tourism industry is due to increased demand for it which is thus influenced by
improvement in standard of living and increased leisure time.
 Another factor is improvement in transportation that has made travel easier and
destinations reachable.
Tourist Attractions
Tourist attractions are specific features of a place that attract people. These are as follows:
 Climate In winter holidays, areas having warm sunny weather is preferred like beaches in
Southern Europe, so it attracts more number of tourists there.
 Landscape Mountains, lakes, spectacular sea coasts and landscapes not completely altered
by man are good tourist attractions.
 History and Art Ancient or picturesque towns, archaeological sites, historically important
places having castles and palaces attract tourists.
 Culture and Economy Areas having rich cultures attract people as they go their to
experience ethnic and local customs. Places giving economic benefits are also attractions
such as cheap home stays in Goa, Madikere and Coorg in Karnataka.
Medical Services for Overseas Patients in India

Medical services or tourism takes place when medical treatment is combined with international
tourism activity. People from developed countries like US are visiting India for medical tourism or
services. This brings economic benefits to India and other countries where medical tourism is taking
place like Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Other medical related activities such as outsourcing of medical tests, data interpretation, reading
radiology images, interpreting Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs) and ultrasound tests are taking
place in India, Australia and Switzerland.
Quaternary Activities
The activities related to knowledge oriented, involving collection, production and dissemination of

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information come under quaternary activities. They centre around research development and may
involve specialised knowledge and technical skills.
Software developers, mutual fund managers, doctors, accounting, brokerage firms are some
examples of quaternary activities. They can be outsourced even as these are not tied to resources or
affected by the environment or markets. This sector has replaced primary and secondary sector and
absorbs half of the population in developed economies.
Quinary Activities
The activities that are highly specific and specialised are placed under it. These include high level
decision-makers, administrators, government officials, research scientists, etc. They are also known
as gold collar professions.
Outsourcing
 It means contracting out or giving work to an outside agency to improve efficiency and to
reduce cost. It is termed as off-shoring when work is transferred to overseas location.
 Outsourcing provides employment in developing Countries of India, China, Botswana, etc.

Information technology, human resources, customer support, call centres, data processing
and other IT related services are examples of outsourcing.
BPO
 BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing which involves customer support services, call
centres and similar other processes.
 The developed countries transfer these jobs as overhead costs are much lower making it
profitable to get job work carried out.
KPO
KPO stands for a Knowledge Process Outsourcing which involves skilled workers and enables
companies to create additional business opportunities, e.g. e-leaming, business research, etc.
The Digital Divide
 Development emerging from the information and communication technology is unevenly

spread across the globe. Some regions have prospered while others are lagged behind. This
is known as digital divide.
 In developing countries, this kind of divide is seen more than developed countries. Here, the
metropolitan cities are developed more than rural areas.
Chapter 8 - Transport and Communication

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Transport
Transport is a facility or a service for the carriage of persons and goods from one place to another
using humans, animals and different kinds of vehicles. It is an organised service industry that handles
loading, unloading and delivery.
Modes of Transportation
 The main modes of transportation are land, water, air and pipelines. These are used for
inter-regional and intra-regional transport, and each one (except pipelines) carries both
passengers and goods.
 Several places (nodes) join together by a series of routes (links) to form a pattern is called
transport network.
Land Transport
This includes movement of goods and services over land i.e. roads and rails. Earlier humans
themselves were carriers such as in palanquin (palki or doli), later pack animals such as mules,
horses, camels were used. Dogs and reindeers were used in North America. In India, bullocks were
used to pull carts. The revolution came after invention of steam engine in 18th century that started
railways and roadways with the invention of internal combustion engines.
Among the new means of land transport are pipelines, ropeways and cableways. Rope and
cableways are generally found on steep mountain slopes and mines, which are not suitable for
building roads.
Roads
It is most economical for short distance and gaining importance for freight transport due to its door
to door service. Metalled roads are all weather roads while unmetalled roads are not serviceable in
all seasons due to their simple construction. Though heavy rains and floods make both the roads
unserviceable. The quality, construction and maintenance of roads is better in developed countries
than in developing countries as it requires heavy expenditure.
Road Density
 The total motorable road length of the world is only about 15 million km, in which North
America separately accounted 33%. Although, North America in compare to Western Europe
registered highest number of vehicles as well as highest road density.
 Road density is the total length of roads per hundred square kilometre of area.

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Countries and their Road Density
Traffic Flows
It refers to traffic on roads that has increased dramatically in recent years. As the road network
cannot cope with the demands of traffic, so congestion occurs.
Highways
 They are metalled roads connecting distant places for unobstructed vehicular movement.
These are 80m wide with separate traffic lanes, bridges, flyovers and dual carriageways
 In North America, there is dense network of highways. Pacific coast is linked to Atlantic
coast, Vancouver is connected to Newfoundland by Trans-Canadian highway and Edmonton
is connected to Anchorage through Alaskan highway.
 Trans-continental Stuart highway connects Darwin, Melbourne to Alice springs in Australia.

Europe has well developed highway network. Moscow-Vladivostok highway is important for
Russia. Highways criss-cross the country in China.
 In India, National Highway No.7 (NH7) connecting Varanasi and Kanyakumari is the longest
highway of the country. (The golden quadrilateral or super expressway is under
construction). Now, NH-44 became the longest running highway in India. It connects
Srinagar to Kanyakumari. NH-7 is renamed as National Highway 44. In Africa, Algiers in North
is connected to Guinea and Cairo connected to Capetown in South.
Border Roads
These are roads laid along international boundaries. These roads help in transport of goods to
border areas and military camps.
Railways
Railways are best suited for the transportation of bulky goods and passengers over long distances.
Highly industrialised areas, urbanised regions and mineral rich areas are linked to railways for the
transportation of ores, grains, timber and machinery. All the continents have dense network while
Europe is having the highest density of railways. The railway network of Africa, Asia and South

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America connects the mineral rich and fertile areas and is developed primarily to utilise the natural
resources.
Trans-Continental Railways
The railway line that runs across the continent and links its two ends is called a trans-continental
railway line. They are constructed for economic and political reasons.
The following are the most important of these:
Trans-Siberian Railway
It is in Russia and the longest railway in the world. It runs between St. Petersburg in West to
Vladivostok in East, passing through Moscow, Irkutsk, Chita, etc. It links important agro centre with
fur centre connecting rail routes to important cities of Asia.
Trans-Canadian Railway
Constructed in 1886, it is 7050 km long railway in Canada that links Halifax in East to Vancouver in
West. It passes through the industrial region connecting the wheat belt of Prairies and the
coniferous forest area so it is considered economic artery of Canada. Wheat and meat are the
important exports on this route.
The Union and Pacific Railway

This rail line connects New York on the Atlantic coast to San Francisco on the Pacific coast passing
through Cleveland, Chicago, Omaha, Evans, Ogden and Sacramento. The most valuable exports on
this route are ores, grain, paper, chemicals and machinery.
The Australian Trans-Continental Railway

This rail line runs West-East across the southern part of the continent from Perth on the West coast
to Sydney on the East coast passing through Kalgoorlie broken hill and port Augusta. Another North-
South line connects Adelaide and Alice spring and to be joined later to the Darwin-Birdum link.
The Orient Express

This line runs from Paris to Istanbul passing through Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and
Belgrade. It has reduced the 10-day journey to only 4 days. Cheese, wine, bacon, oats, fruits and
machinery are chief exports on this rail route.
Water Transport
This is the cheapest mode of transport as no construction cost is there and very little maintenance
cost. The linking of oceans have brought greater navigation with ships of various sizes. Water
transport is divided into sea routes and inland waterways.
1. Sea Routes
Sea and oceans provide smooth highway traversable in all directions with no maintenance costs.
Modem passenger ships and cargo ships are equipped with various navigation aids. The important
sea routes are as follows:

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 North Atlantic Sea Route It links North-Eastern USA and North-Western Europe. It is the
busiest in the world and also called Big Trunk route.
 Mediterranean-Indian Ocean Sea Route This route connects industrialised Western Europe
with West Africa, South Africa, South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Natural
resources such as gold, diamond, copper, tin, groundnut, oil palm, coffee and fruits are
transported through it.
 Cape of Good Hope Sea Route This route links West Europe and West African countries with
Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in South America. Traffic is less on this route because the
countries falling in this route have similar products and resources.
 The North Pacific Sea Route This route connects the ports on the West coast of North
America with those of Asia. These are Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los
Angeles of American side with Yokohama, Kobe, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore
of Asian side.
 The South Pacific Sea Route This route is used for reaching Hong Kong, Philippines and
Indonesia and also links Western Europe and North America with Australia, New Zealand
and Pacific Islands via the Panama Canal. Panama is 12000 km far from Sydney. Honolulu is
an important port on this route.
 Coastal Shipping Coastal shipping is a convenient mode of transportation with long

coastlines, e.g. USA, China and India. This type of shipping can reduce congestion on land
routes.
Shipping Canals
There are two canals that serve as gateways of commerce for both the Eastern and Western worlds.
They are:
 The Suez Canal Constructed in 1869, it is a man-made canal linking the Mediterranean sea
and the Red sea. It is 160 km long and 11 -15 m deep without any locks and sea water flows
freely through it.
 The Panama Canal It is a man-made canal linking Atlantic ocean with Pacific ocean. It is 72
km long and involves a deep cutting for a length of 12 km and has 6 locks. It shortens the
distance between New York and San Francisco by 13000 km by sea.
2. Inland Waterways
Rivers, canals, lakes and coastal areas are inland waterways for the transportation of cargo and
passengers. The development of inland waterways depends on navigability, water flow and
transport technology. The important inland waterways are: The
 Rhine Waterways This waterway links the industrial areas of Switzerland, Germany, France,
Belgium and the Netherlands with the North Atlantic sea routes. The river Rhine flows
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through Germany and Netherlands. It flows through a rich coal field, Dusseldorf is an
important port in this region. This waterway is the world’s most heavily used. More than
20,000 ocean-going ships and 200,0 inland vessels move from this waterways every year.
 The Danube Waterway The Danube river which is navigable upto Tauma Severin, emerges in
the Black Forest. It is used mainly for the export of wheat, maize, timber and machinery.
 The Volga Waterway Volga is one of the developed waterways of Russia. It is navigable upto
11,200 km and drains into the Caspian Sea.
It is connected to Moscow region and the Black Sea through Volga-Moscow canal and Volga-
Don canal respectively.
 The Great Lakes-St Lawrence Seaway The Great Lakes alongwith estury of St Lawrence river
form a waterway in North America. Duluth and Buffalo are two important ports on this
route.
 The Mississippi Waterways The Mississippi-Ohio waterway links the interior part of USA
with the Gulf of Mexico in the South. Large steamers can move upto Minneapolis.
Air Transport
It is the fastest means of transport but it is very costly. Air transport has brought connectivity
revolution in inhospitable deserts, mountainous regions and snow fields where other means of
transport are not reachable. Due to high construction and maintenance cost, air transport is more
developed in highly industrialised countries. Supersonic aircrafts cover the distance in very short
time.
Inter- Continental Air Routes

USA accounts for 60% of airways of the world. Important cities are nodal points where air routes
converge or radiate to all continents. Africa, Asiatic part of Russia and South America lack air
services, sparser population or limited landmass or low economic development.
Pipelines
These are used to transport water, petroleum, natural gas, liquidified coal for an uninterrupted flow.
Milk is supplied through pipelines in New Zealand. USA has dense network of pipelines. Big Inch is
famous pipeline of USA that transports petroleum from the oil wells of the Gulf of Mexico to the
North-Eastern states. In Europe, Russia,
West Asia and India, oil wells are linked to refineries through pipelines.
Communications
Long distance communication in the form of telegraph and telephone are important. In mid-19th
century, American Telegraph and Telephone company (AT&T) enjoyed monopoly. In developing
countries the use of cell phones has gained importance for rural connectivity.
Latest technology developments have resulted in Optical Fibre Cables (OFC). They allow large

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quantities of data to be transmitted that are virtually error free. Now the telecommunication
merged with computers to form integrated networks termed as Internet.
Satellite Communication in India

Artificial satellites are deployed in Earth’s orbit to enhance communication and improve
connectivity. This is satellite communication which has reduced the per unit cost and time of
communication also.
India developed its own satellite Aryabhatta and launched it on 19th April, 1979, Bhaskar -I in 1979
and Rohini in 1980. Bhaskar, Challenger and INSAT-IB satellites are used for long distance
communication and weather forecasting.
Cyber Space-Internet
This is the latest technology in which there is instant connectivity by accessing the electronic
computerised space. It is called cyber space or Internet and is encompassed by the World Wide Web
(www).
Majority of Internet users are in USA, UK, Germany, Japan, China and India. The social and economic
space has expanded through e-mail, e-commerce, e-leaming and e-governance.
Chapter 9 - International Trade

History of International Trade
 In ancient times, trade was restricted to local markets. Slowly long distance trade developed;
of which Silk Route is an example. The route was 6000 km long connecting Rome to China
and traders transported Chinese silk, Roman wool, metals, etc through this route. Later, sea
and ocean routes were discovered and trade grew.
 The Slave Trade emerged in 15th century in which the Portuguese, Dutch, Spaniards and
British captured African natives and sold to plantation owners in America. After Industrial
Revolution, industrialised nations imported raw materials and exported finished products to
non-industrial nations.
 International trade is the result of specialisation in production and division of labour. It is

based on the principle of comparative advantage that is mutually beneficial to trading
partners.
Basis of International Trade

The factors on which international trade depends are as follows:
 Difference in National Resources The resources are unevenly distributed in the world. These
differences mainly refer to geology, mineral resources and climate.

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 Geological Structure This means the relief features, type of land such as fertile,
mountainous, lowlands, that support agriculture, tourism and other activities.
 Mineral Resources The regions rich in minerals will support industrial development that
leads to trade.
 Climate It influences the type of flora and fauna that is found in a region, such as wool
production in cold regions. Cocoa, rubber, Bananas can grow in tropical regions.
 Population Factors The size, distribution and diversity of population between countries
affect the trade in respect of type and volume of goods. Large volume of internal trade than
external trade takes place in densely populated areas due to consumption in local markets.
 Cultural Factors Distinctive forms of art and craft develop in certain cultures and give rise to
trade e.g. porcelain and brocades of China, carpets of Iran, Batik cloth of Indonesia, etc.
 Stage of Economic Development

Industrialised nations export machinery, finished products and import foodgrains and raw
materials. The situation is opposite in agriculturally important countries.
 Extent of Foreign Investment Developing countries lack capital so foreign investment can
boost trade in developing countries by developing plantation agriculture.
 Transport Lack of transport in older time restricted trade only to local areas. The expansion
of rail, ocean and air transport, better means of refrigeration and preservation, trade has
experienced spatial expansion:***’
Aspects of International Trade

There are three very important aspects of international trade:
 Volume of Trade It is measured simply as the total value of goods and services traded.
However, actual tonnage of traded goods makes up the volume but services traded cannot
be measured in tonnage.
 Composition of Trade Earlier primary’ goods were more in total traded goods, then there
was dominance of manufactured goods and now there is dominance of service sector which
includes transportation and other commercial services.
 Direction of Trade Earlier valuable goods and artefacts were exported to European countries
by the developing countries. Later in the 19th century, manufactured goods from European
countries were exchanged with foodstuffs and with raw materials from their colonies.
Types of International Trade

There are two types of international trade:

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 Bilateral trade It is between two countries when they enter into an agreement to trade
certain goods in which they are specialised.
 Multilateral trade It is conducted with many trading countries at the same time at goods
which the countries are specialised in. The country may also grant the status of Most
Favoured Nation (MNF) on some of trading partners.
Balance of Trade
 It refers to the volume of goods and services imported and exported by one country to other
countries. Favourable balance of trade means the value of exports is more than its imports.
 Unfavourable balance of trade means that imports are more than exports. Balance of
payments affects a country’s economy as negative balance means country’s expenses are
more than its income.
Case for Free Trade
 Free trade or trade liberalisation is the act of opening up of economics so that more trade
takes place. This is done by bringing down trade barriers like tarrifs. But trade liberalisation
causes competition and can cause dumping.
 Dumping is the selling of a commodity in two countries at a price that differs for reasons not
related to costs. Countries need to be cautious about dumped goods.
World Trade Organisation [WTO]
 General Agreement for Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was formed in 1948 to make the world free
from tariffs as well as non-tariff barriers.
 On 1st January, 1995, the GATT was transformed into the World Trade Organisation to set-
up an institution for the promotion of free and fair trade amongst different countries of the
world.
 The WTO sets the rules for the global trading system. The headquarters of WTO is located in
Geneva, Switzerland and 164 countries are its members.
 However, WTO has been criticised and opposed by those who are worried about the effects
of free trade and economic globalisation. They argued that free trade is not beneficial to the
ordinary people as it is widening the gap between rich and poor.
 They also argued that issues of health, workers’ rights, child labour and environment are
ignored.
Regional Trade Blocs

These are developed as a response to the failure of global organisations. There are 120 regional

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trade blocs that generate 52% of the world’s trade.
Some of the trade blocs are as follows:
Concerns Related to International Trade

This can be summarised as merits and demerits of international trade.
 Merits of International Trade International trade is beneficial if it promotes regional

specialisation, higher level of production, better standard of living, worldwide availability of
goods and sendees, equalisation of price and wages and diffusion of knowledge and culture.
 Demerits of International Trade The demerits are, it leads to dependence on other

countries, uneven levels of development, exploitation and commercial rivalry.
Gateways of International Trade

Harbours and ports are the chief gateways of international trade. These ports facilitate the passage
of cargos and travellers as well as provide facilities of docking, loading, unloading and storage.

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Types of Ports
Ports are generally, classified according to the types of traffic which handle. Types of ports on the
basis of cargo handled are:
 Industrial Ports The ports that handle bulk cargo like grain, ores, oil, chemicals are called
industrial ports.
 Commercial Ports Ports handling packaged products, manufactured goods, passengers are
commercial ports.
 Comprehensive Ports Ports that handle bulk and general cargo in large volumes are called
comprehensive ports. Most of the world’s great ports are classified as comprehensive ports.
Types of Ports on the basis of Location
 Inland Ports Ports located away from the sea coasts and linked to the sea through a river or
a canal are inland ports, e.g. Mannheim on Rhine river.
 Out Ports Ports in deep waters built away from the actual ports and serving big ships are
called out ports, e.g. Athens and its out port Piraeus in Greece.
Types of Ports on the basis of Specialised Functions
 Oil Ports Ports that deal in the processing and shipping of oil are known as oil ports. These
are tanker ports like Tripoli in Lebanon and refinery’ ports like Abadon on the Gulf of Persia.
 Ports of Call Ports which originally developed as calling points on main sea routes where
ships used to anchor for refuelling, watering and taking food items are called ports of call,
e.g., Honolulu and Aden.
 Packet Station Also known as ferry ports, these are exclusively concerned with the
transportation of passengers and mail across water bodies covering short distances, e.g.,
Dover in England and Calais in France.
 Entrepot Ports These are collection centres where the goods are brought from different
countries for export, e.g., Singapore is an entrepot for Asia.
 Naval Ports These ports serve worships and have repair workshops for them, e.g., Kochi,
Karwar in India.
Chapter 10 - Human Settlements

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Rural-Urban Dichotomy (Difference)
The human settlements can be differentiated in terms of rural and urban, population size, nature of
activities, structure, functions, etc. There is no uniformity in the differentiation of the settlements.
But, the basic difference between towns and villages is that in towns the main occupation of the
people is related to secondary and tertiary sectors, on the other side, in villages people are engaged
in primary activities.
 Sub-Urbanisation It is a new trend of people moving away from congested urban areas to
cleaner areas outside the city in search of better quality of life.
 Census of India, 1991 It defines urban settlements as places which have municipal
corporation, cantonment board, notified town area committee and have a population of
5000 persons and above and where 75% of male workers are engaged in non-agricultural
activities and density of population is at least 400 persons per sq km.
Types and Patterns of Settlements

Settlements can be classified into compact and dispersed by their shape, pattern and types. The
major types classified by shape are as follows:
 Compact or Nucleated Settlements In these settlements, large number of houses are built
very close to each other and they develop along the river valleys and in fertile plains. There
are close knit communities and people here share common occupations.
 Dispersed Settlements In these settlements, houses are spaced far apart and often
interspersed with fields such as a place of worship, a market that binds the settlement
together.
Rural Settlements
These settlements are closely and directly related to land. They are dominated by primary activities
like agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry, etc. The factors affecting the location of settlements are
as follows:
 Water Supply Rural settlements are located near water bodies such as rivers, lakes and
springs as water is needed for irrigation, fishing, navigation and drinking.
 Land Fertile lands suitable for agriculture are places of human settlement like villages in
rolling countryside in Europe avoiding swampy areas, low lying river valleys and coastal
plains suited for wet rice cultivation in South-East Asia.
 Upland Dry points like uplands, terraces, leaves that are not prone to flooding are places of
settlements. In tropical countries, people build their houses on stilts near marshy lands to
protect themselves from flood, insects and animal pests.

ORACLE IAS
 Building Material Settlements are made in those places where building materials are
available like cave dwellings in China, mud bricks houses in African Savanna and igloos with
ice blocks in polar regions.
 Defence Places that form good defensive site are developed as settlements like defensive
hills, islands, etc. In India, forts were built on hills.
 Planned Settlements Planned settlements are constructed by government by providing

shelter, water and other infrastructure on acquired lands, e.g. canal colonies in Indira
Gandhi Canal Command Area in India.
Rural Settlement Patterns

This refers to the way the houses are sited in relation to each other. The surrounding topography
terrain influence the shape.
They are classified as below:
1. On the basis of setting, the main types are plain and size of village, plain villages, plateau
villages, coastal villages, forest villages, desert villages, etc.
2. On the basis of functions, there may be farming villages, fishermen villages, lumbeijack
villages, pastoral villages, etc.
3. On the basis of forms/shapes of the Settlement, the villages are developed in geometrical
forms and shapes such as:
Linear Pattern The houses are located along the road, railway line, river, canal edge of a valley, along
a levee.
Rectangular Pattern The settlements are located in plain areas or in wide inter montane valleys. The
roads are rectangular and cut each other at right angles.
Circular Pattern The settlements develop around lakes, tanks and the central part remains open for
keeping the animals to protect them from wild animals.
Star-like Pattern These settlements develop where several roads converge and the houses are built
along the roads.
T-shaped, Y-shaped, Cross-shaped or Cruciform Settlements The T-shape settlements develop at
tri-junctions, Y-shaped settlements emerge where two roads converge on the third and houses are
built along these roads, cruciform settlements develop on the cross-roads and houses extend in all
the four directions.
Double Village These settlements extend on both sides of a river where there is a bridge or a ferry.
Problems of Rural Settlements
 Rural settlements in developing countries are large in number and have poor infrastructure.
There is inadequate supply of water in these settlements.

ORACLE IAS
 Water borne diseases like cholera, jaundice, etc are a common problem. There is lack of
irrigation facilities, problem of drought and flood in rural settlements. Inadequate sanitation
facility, toilet and garbage disposal facilities cause health related problems.
 Proper housing and separate shed for animals are not there. Rural settlements mostly lack
metalled roads and modern communication network. Health centres and educational
institutions are less in number.
Urban Settlements
There had been a rapid growth of urban settlements around the world. The first city to reach a
population of one million was London in AD 1810. At present 48% of the world population live in
cities.
Classification of Urban Settlements

Common basis of classification are:
 Population Size It refers to the lower limit of the population for a settlement to be
designated as urban. It is not universal and varies from country to country. In Columbia, a
settlement having population of 1500 is termed as urban, in Argentina and Portugal it is
2000, 2500 in USA and Thailand, 5000 in India, 30,000 in Japan, 250 in Denmark, Sweden
and Finland, 300 in Iceland, and 1000 in Canada and Venezuela.
 Occupational Structure In some countries, the major economic activities alongwith

population size designate a settlement as urban. In Italy, settlement called as urban if more
than 50% of its economically productive population is engaged in non-agricultural pursuits.
India has set its criterion at 75%.
 Administration Administration set up also designates a settlement as urban in some

countries. In India, if an area has a municipality, notified area council, then it is considered
urban.
 Location Location of urban centres is examined with reference to their function, e.g.
strategic towns offering natural defence, mining towns, industrial towns, tourist centres,
places with historical relics and other places that can provide proper living conditions have
the potential to develop into urban centres.
Functions of Urban Centres

On the basis of the functions, the urban settlements are classified into the following:
 Administrative towns National capitals having administrative offices like New Delhi,
Canberra,
London, Beijing, etc are called administrative towns. Provincial (sub-national) towns can also
have administrative functions, e.g. Victoria (British Columbia), Albany (New York), etc.

ORACLE IAS
 Trading and Commercial Towns Agricultural market towns like Winnipeg, banking and
financial centres like Frankfurt, large inland centres like Manchester, transport nodes like
Lahore, Baghdad,
Agra are important trading centres.
 Cultural Towns Pilgrimage places like Jerusalem, Varanasi, Jagannath Puri, etc are
considered cultural towns. Other centres like health and recereation (Miami), industrial
(Pittsburgh and Jamshedpur), mining, quarrying (Dhanbad) and transport (Singapore and
Mughal Sarai) are also urban settlements.
Classification of Towns on the basis of Forms

Urban settlements can be linear, square, star or crescent shaped. Cities in developed countries are
planned while in developing countries have evolved historically with irregular shapes. Chandigarh
and Canberra are planned cities while smaller town in India have evolved historically from walled
cities to large urban sprawls.
 Addis Ababa Established in 1878, it is capital of Ethiopia and is located in hill valley
topography. It is a large nodal centre, has large markets and government headquarters. The
city has witnessed rapid growth and expansion in all directions.
 Canberra Established in 1912, it is the capital of Australia. It is a garden city with wide open
spaces, parks and gardens. Initially, it was built to accommodate 25,000 people but now it
has expanded to accommodate many satellite towns.
Types of Urban Settlements Problems of Urban Settlements

Depending upon the size and services available, urban centres are classified further as follows:
 Towns These can be well understood with reference to ‘village’. Specific functions such as
manufacturing, retail and wholesale trade, and professional services exist in towns.
 City They are larger than towns, have greater number of economic functions, tend to have
transport terminals, major financial institution and administrative offices. In the words of
Lewis Mumford, ”The city is in fact the physical form of the highest and most complex type
of associative life”.
 Conurbation The term conurbation was coined by Patrick Geddes in 1915. This is applied to
a large area of urban development that resulted from the merging of originally separate
towns or cities like Greater London and Tokyo.
 Megalopolis Popularised by Jean Gottman (1957), this signifies super metropolitan region
extending as union of conurbations, e.g. urban landscape stretching from Boston to
Washington.

ORACLE IAS
 Million City It refers to a city whose population reaches more than one million, e.g. London
reached million mark in 1800 followed by Paris in 1850 and by 1950 there were around 80
such cities.
 Distribution of Mega Cities The number of mega cities or megalopolis has been rising
rapidly. The number of mega cities is 25 currently. At present, the number of million cities in
Europe is 58, 206 in Asia, 79 in North and Central America, 43 in South America, 46 in Africa
and 6 in Australia. They are also inadequate in infrastructure such as electricity sewage,
disposal, health and education facilities.
Problems Of Urban Settelments

In developing countries, urban settlements suffer from unsustainable concentration of population,
congested housing, lack of drinking water, poor infrastructure, no proper sewage disposal, health
and education facilities, vertical expansion and growth of slums. Most of the cities in developing
countries suffer from such unplanned growth. They are:
 Economic Problems The decreasing employment opportunities in rural areas push the
unskilled and semi-skilled labour force to migrate to urban areas which is already saturated.
‘
 Socio-Cultaral Problems Cities in developing countries suffer from several social ills. Lack of
financial resources fail to create adequate social infrastructure. Lack of employment and
education tends to aggravate the crime rates. Male selective migration to the urban areas
disorts the sex ratio in these cities.
 Environmental Problems Urban settlements in developing countries suffer from improper

sewage system, massive use of fuel that causes air pollution, lack of clean drinking water,
dumping of untreated wastes and huge concrete structures that aggravate the
environmental problems.
Healthy City
The World Health Organisation suggests that a healthy city should have clean and safe environment,
meet the basic needs of all his inhabitants, involve the community in local government and provide
easily accessible health service.
Urban Strategy
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) outlines the urban strategy that aims to
increase shelter for urban poor, provision of basic services like primary healthcare, drinking water,
education, sanitation, government facilities, upgrading energy use, alternative transport system and
reducing air pollution.

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NCERT Class 12- Human Geography gist –

Naturalisation of Humans and Humanisation of Nature

 The interaction of primitive societies with the physical environment is termed as

History of Human Geography

Field and Sub-fields of Human Geography

1 +91 9997453844| https://oracleias.org/

Human Geography and Sister Disciplines of Social Sciences

Chapter 2 - The World Population

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Factors Influencing Population Distribution

Climate Area with less seasonal variation attract more people.

Social and Cultural Factors

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Components of Population Change

Crude Birth Rate [CBR]

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

Here, D= Number of Deaths; P= Estimated mid-year population of that year.

Push and Pull Factors of Migration

Trends in Population Growth

4 +91 9997453844| https://oracleias.org/

Doubling Time of World Population

Spatial Pattern of Population Change

Impact of Population Change

Demographic Transition Theory

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Population Control Measures

Chapter 3 - Population Composition

6 +91 9997453844| https://oracleias.org/

Rural Urban Composition

 This is proportional distribution of working population (age group 15 to 59) in various

 Manufacturing as secondary activity, transport, communication and other services as

7 +91 9997453844| https://oracleias.org/

Chapter 4 - Human Development

 This concept was introduced by Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq in 1990. Human development is

Four Pillars of Human Development

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Measuring Human Development

Following are the ways of measuring human development

Human Development Index

Human Poverty Index

United Nations Development Programme

Gross National Happiness

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Very High Level of Human Development

High Level of Human Development

Medium Level of Human Development

Low Level of Human Development

Chapter 5 - Primary Activities

Commercial Livestock Rearing

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 Modem scientific technology with emphasis on breeding, genetic improvement, disease

Extensive Commercial Grain Cultivation

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 This is practised in North-Western Europe, Eastern-North America, parts of Eurasia and

Market Gardening and Horticulture

 It is practised in highly developed and

13 +91 9997453844| https://oracleias.org/

Factors affecting Mining Activity

2. Economic factors related to demand for mineral, technology, capital to develop