Previous Year Question
As per 2011 Census which one of the following states has recorded decrease in population?
Nagaland
Manipur
Tripura
Sikkim
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
In the final Census 2011 population data, Nagaland recorded negative decadal population growth during 2001-2011. Its decadal growth rate was approximately -0.58%. Thus, Nagaland was the notable State that recorded a decline in population in Census 2011.
Here, negative population growth means that the population recorded in 2011 was slightly lower than the comparable population in 2001. It does not merely mean that the rate of increase became slower; the growth rate actually fell below zero.
In contrast, Manipur, Tripura and Sikkim recorded positive population growth during 2001-2011. Therefore, among the given options, only Nagaland is correct.
A useful distinction is—
Low growth rate → population may still be increasing.
Negative growth rate → population falls compared with the preceding Census.
Thus, the position of a low-growth State such as Kerala was different from Nagaland; Nagaland actually recorded negative growth in Census 2011.