One of the most noticeable trends seen today in the world is urbanisation. According to United Nations Sustainable Development Report, 2019, more than half the world’s population has been living in cities since 2007 and that share is projected to rise to 60 per cent by 2030. Urbanisation is the engine for economic growth and this is evident from the fact that cities and metropolitan areas contribute about 60 per cent of global GDP (United Nations Sustainable Development Report 2019). Urban settlements serve as hubs for development, where the interplay of commerce, government and transportation provide the infrastructure necessary for sharing knowledge and information and drive innovation, entrepreneurship and growth.
Urbanisation in Rajasthan
Urbanisation in India is now catching up fast with that of the rest of the world. The trend of urbanisation in Rajasthan has also was increasing along similar lines as at the national level. The percentage share of India’s urban population in its total population increased from 17.97 per cent (1961) to 27.81 per cent (2001) and further to 31.14 per cent in 2011.
Similar trends can be observed in Rajasthan as percentage share of Rajasthan’s urban population in its total population increased from 16.28 per cent (1961) to 23.39 percent (2001) and later to 24.87 per cent in 2011.
The total population living in urban areas of Rajasthan in 2011 was 1.70 crore which include 89.09 lakh of male population and 81.39 lakh of female population. In 2001, the total urban population in Rajasthan was 1.32 crore, out of which 69.93 lakh were males and 62.21 lakh were females.
Among the urban population in Rajasthan in 2011, the share of male population was 52.26 per cent and the share of female population was 47.74 per cent whereas in 2001, the share of males and females in the total urban population of the State were 52.92 per cent and 47.08 per cent respectively.
Salient Features of Urbanisation in Rajasthan
- Child Population (0-6 Age Group): In Rajasthan, the total population of children in the age group of 0-6 years has remained almost constant between 2001 and 2011. In contrast, the population size of children in urban areas of Rajasthan increased from 20.64 lakh in 2001 to 22.35 Lakh in 2011.
- Sex Ratio: Sex Ratio in urban regions of Rajasthan was 914 females per 1000 males in 2011, as compared to 890 females per thousand males in 2001 which shows that the sex ratio in urban region has been improved by 24 females per 1000 males. However, the rural areas continue to exhibit a more balanced sex ratio than urban areas (region wise).
- Literacy Rate: The literacy rate has continuously witnessed an upward trend from 1961 to 2011. The literacy rate in Rajasthan in 2011 was 66.11 per cent, rising from 60.40 per cent in 2001. In terms of region-wise performance, average literacy rate in Rajasthan for Urban regions was 79.70 per cent in 2011, as compared to 61.40 per cent in rural region.
- Cities/Urban agglomeration (UA) with population of 1 lakh and above: It is observed that Jaipur, with a population of 30.46 lakh, is the biggest city in Rajasthan with respect to population size, followed by Jodhpur, Kota and Bikaner. Banswara, an urban agglomeration, has the lowest population size.
- Spatial Variation in Urbanisation: In terms of urban population in Rajasthan, districts including Kota (60.31 per cent), Jaipur (52.40 per cent), Ajmer (40.08 per cent), Jodhpur (34.30 per cent) and Bikaner (33.86 per cent) are the most urbanised districts, whereas Jalore (8.30 per cent), Pratapgarh (8.27 per cent), Banswara (7.10 per cent) and Dungarpur (6.39 per cent) are the least urbanized districts.