Almost 1.1 billion people live in India, a population that is growing rapidly. India’s population has
tripled in size since the beginning of the twentieth century. It occupies 2.4 percent of the world’s land,
and contributes to 15 percent of the world’s population. Almost half of Indias land is covered with farms.
Part of the reason India’s population is growing so rapidly is because family is very important to the
Indian people. Indian tradition is to have many children because the parents will most likely rely on the
children to support them when they are older, though often some children will die from disease,
malnutrition, or accidents before they reach adulthood. Almost 40 percent of Indians are younger than 15
years of age. Also population growth is increasing because the mortality rate is decreasing due to better
healthcare. The better healthcare may include better access to facilities, and more doctors. Only fifteen
percent of people suffer from no health care, but with India’s population being so large, fifteen percent is
over 150 million. There are still only 48 doctors for every 100,000 people. Though not everyone has
health care, it has drastically improved, causing the fatality rate to decrease.