Illiteracy & population growth -A study of Kerala & Bihar

Abstract

Indian economy bagses the seventh position among the largest economies of the world. Being one of the top listed countries among the developing countries in terms of industrialization and economic growth, India holds a robust stand with an average growth rate of approx 7%, but there are still fair opportunities for better & faster growth. The irony is that its Population is growing and Literacy is not growing at the same rate. The purpose of this research is to identify the causes of rapid increase in population rate, by considering data and establishing special causes, if any, associated with Kerala & Bihar, the two states which are being studied. The next phase of the research involves a study of the literacy rate in stated states of Kerala & Bihar, wherein one is a developed state & the other a backward state. A comparison is proposed to be made between the two states and with the various countries world over and correlate the findings to establish any correlation between increasing population and stagnating or slow growth in literacy rate. India's literacy rate is at 74.04%. Kerala is the most literate state in India, with 93.91% literacy. Bihar is the least literate state in India, with a literacy of 63.82%. Bihar is the only Indian state in the 2011 census where less than 65% of the population was literate. Population is a great menace to our economic growth. Advances in medical science and health measures have reduced the death-rate. But the birth rate has continued to remain more or less stationary. The population increases between 100–120 lakhs per year. The literacy by now should have been 100%.