ISSN: 2319-8753

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science,

Engineering and Technology
(An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization)

Vol. 3, Issue 9, September 2014

Analysis of Population
Growth of India and Estimation for Future
Shilpa S Kulkarni1, Shreenidhi R Kulkarni2, Suraj J Patil3
P.G. Student, Department of Mathematics, Karnataka State Open University, Mysore, India1
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KLS Gogte Institute of Technology, Belgaum, India2
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KLS Gogte Institute of Technology, Belgaum, India3

ABSTRACT:Since times, uncontrolled human population growth has been posing a threat to the earth‟s resources and
to the habitats themselves. Population of India has been increasing dramatically since late 1900‟s. India as a developing
nation should deal quite tactfully with this issue. We work here to estimate the population growth of India since 2009 to
2012 using the logistic model approach and give a comparison with actual population of India for the same time period.
An error equation is also deduced based on the trend line for the specified time period and the population of India for
the year 2013and onwards till 2025 is estimated. The time required for India to reach its carrying capacity is also
discussed. A relevant conclusion is also made based on the obtained results. This work will provide an insight to the
changing trends with respect to India‟s population growth.

KEYWORDS:Population growth, Estimation of Population, Future prediction, Logistic model, Population trend.

NOTATIONS
t Time t in years
Pt Population at time t
P0 Population at reference time t=0 i.e. year 2007
K Population carrying capacity
k Maximum growth rate
et Error in population estimation at time t
dp/dt Rate of change of population with respect to time t.

I. INTRODUCTION

A population model is a type of mathematical model that is applied to the study of population dynamics. Modelsallow a
better understanding of how complex interactions and processes work. Modeling of dynamic interactions in nature can
provide a manageable way of understanding how numbers change over time or in relation to each other. Many, if not
all, of Earth‟s processes affect human life. The Earth‟s processes are greatly stochastic and seem chaotic to the naked
eye. However, a plethora of patterns can be noticed and are brought forth by using population modeling as a tool. There
are various methods to develop a population model.

A simple exponential model gives sufficient approximation in estimation of population but does not defines a saturation
point. Hence the population estimated increases exponentially without any upper limit giving an unrealistic figure for
longer time period. This is because it does not considers the environmental factors and hence suitable for very short
period of time. Logistic model tells that the population growth rate decreases as the population reaches the carrying
capacity or saturation point of the environment. The logistic model is more accurate than the exponential model [1].
Much work has been done to further develop these models so as to predict population growth accurately. In this paper
we propose to estimate the country‟s population for the years 2013 and onwards till 2025.

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Vol. 3, Issue 9, September 2014

II. LITERATURE SURVEY

J. N.Kapur and Q. J. A. Khan [2] talk about the simple model of population growth in their work “Some Mathematical
Models for Population Growth”. This simple model only considers the excess of births over deaths per unit time and
does not account for the limitation of resources. Hence a suitable parameter is considered to modify the simple model
using logistic law. This form is known as simple logistic model. The authors also indicate that this modified model
explained very well growth of bacterial colony in a nutrient medium and also been successfully used to fit the data for
human population. An S-shape curve is obtained when the population is plotted against time. Apart from this the
authors have proposes their own models to predict the population of bacteria.

In the book “Spreadsheet Exercises in Ecology and Evolution”, the authors Donovan and Welden [3] tell that the
Logistic model with explicit carrying capacity is most convenient way to study population growth as the related
equation contains few parameters. They also hint that the solution for basic equation of continuous-logistic model can
be obtained by integrating the equation. More details of this solution are discussed later in this paper.

A report “Population Growth: Trends, Projections, Challenges and Opportunities” published by Planning Commission,
Government of India [4] shows us the trend of decreasing birth from 1901. The report also tells us that the death rate
is much lesser than the birth rate hinting net increasing population of India.

Carl Haub and O. P. Sharma [5] have shown the increasing population trend in their work “India‟s Population Reality:
Reconciling Change and Tradition”. It can be seen that the population of India has drastically increased in late 1900‟s.
C M Lakshmana [6] in his paper “Population, Development and Environment in India” show that the population
growth of India has decreased from 2001 to 2011 as compared to the previous decade. He also points out that the
increasing population of India is main reason behind the environment degradation. He suggests that immediate
remedial actions have to be taken to reverse the degrading trend.

From [2] and [3], it can be concluded that with predate population data Logistic model works accurately in estimation
of population of India. From [4], [5] and [6], we conclude that it is necessary to estimate the population of India
yearly rather that projecting it as per census. This is important to understand the changing population trend for
planning and implementation of policies related to population, environment and economy of India.

Hence we intend to estimate the population growth of India using logistic model from year 2009 to 2012 by using
available predate population data for the year 2007 and 2008. To analyze the error pattern by comparing the estimated
population with actual population and to deduce an error equation based on error pattern. We also intend to
incorporate the error equation with the logistic model and project the population growth of India for the year 2013 and
onwards till 2025.

III. LOGISTIC DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION AND ITS ANALYTICAL SOLUTION

The basic logistic differential equation [3] is given as

𝑑𝑃 𝑃
= 𝑘𝑃 1 − … … (1)
𝑑𝑡 𝐾

The logistic equation (1) can be solved for population P by integrating both sides. Rearranging the terms in equation
(1), we have
𝑑𝑃
= 𝑘𝑑𝑡
𝑃 1−𝑃 𝐾
Integrating both sides we get,
𝑑𝑃
= 𝑘𝑑𝑡
𝑝 1−𝐾 𝑃

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The term in the integration sign on the left hand side of the above equation can be rewritten as:
𝑑𝑃 𝑑𝑃𝐾 𝑑𝑃 𝑑𝑃
= = +
𝑃 1− 𝐾 𝑃 𝑃 𝐾 − 𝑃 𝑃 𝐾 −𝑃

Hence
𝑑𝑃 𝑑𝑃
+ = 𝑘𝑑𝑡
𝑃 𝐾−𝑃

𝑙𝑛 𝑃 − 𝑙𝑛 𝐾 − 𝑃 = 𝑘𝑡 + 𝐶

𝐾−𝑃
𝑙𝑛 = −𝑘𝑡 − 𝐶
𝑃
𝐾−𝑃
= 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 −𝐶
𝑃

𝐾−𝑃
= 𝐴𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐴 = ±𝑒 −𝐶 , 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑃

When reference time is considered t=0 and P=P 0, substituting this in above equation we get

𝐾 − 𝑃0
𝐴= … … (2)
𝑃0
Hence the logistic equation can be re written as
𝐾
𝑃= … … (3)
1 + 𝐴𝑒 −𝑘𝑡

IV. POPULATION ESTIMATION BY LOGISTIC MODEL

The actual population of India from year 2007 to 2012 is obtained from World Bank homepage [7] and the same is
shown below in Table 1 along with the notations used.

Table 1: Actual Population of India from 2007 to 2012 [7]

Year Notation of time t Actual Population for the time t Notation of population for the time t
2007 t0 1159095250 P0
2008 t1 1174662334 P1
2009 t2 1190138069 P2
2010 t3 1205624648 P3
2011 t4 1221156319 P4
2012 t5 1236686732 P5

The notations of time and population for the year 2013 and onwards till year 2025 are continued after the notations for
year 2012 in similar manner.

Carrying capacity „K‟: Gretchen C. Daily and Paul R. Ehrlich [8] in their paper mention about India‟s carrying
capacity as 2 billion.

The constant „A‟: The term „A‟ in equation (2) is obtained by substituting the carrying capacity and reference
population that is population of India for the year 2007 (from table 1). The obtained value of term „A‟ is 0.725483734.

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Maximum growth rate „k‟: The term „k‟ in logistic equation (3) is a constant and can be determined by using the
population of India for the year 2007 and 2008. The estimation of “k” is as shown:
The logistic equation (3) is rewritten for year 2008, that is when t=t 1 and P=P1 as
𝐾
𝑃1 =
1 + 𝐴𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 1

Substituting the values of terms in above equation from table1, we get,

2000000000
1174662334 =
1 + 0.725483734 × 𝑒 −𝑘×1

2000000000
1 + 0.725483734 × 𝑒 −𝑘 = = 1.702616950
1174662334

0.725483734 × 𝑒 −𝑘 = 0.702616950

0.702616950
𝑒 −𝑘 = = 0.968480638
0.725483734

Taking natural log on both sides of above equation we get,

−𝑘 = ln 0.968480638 = −0.032026788

Simplified logistic equation: For the purpose of estimation of population of India from year 2009 onwards, the logistic
equation (3) can be simplified by substituting values of terms like K, A and e -k. Hence the simplified logistic equation
obtained is:
𝐾 2000000000
𝑃𝑡 = −𝑘 𝑡
= … … (4)
1 + 𝐴(𝑒 ) 1 + 0.725483734 × 0.968480638𝑡

Population estimation from year 2009 and onwards: Substituting the values of time and population from tabe 1 in
equation (4), the estimated population is obtained. The table 2 below shows the estimated population and actual
population for the year 2009 and onwards till year 2012 along with the error in population estimation.

Table 2: Error in population estimation form 2009 to 2012

Year Actual Population of India Population estimated by logistic model Error in estimation

2009 1190138069 1190142588 -4520

2010 1205624648 1205528867 95781

2011 1221156319 1220814208 342111

2012 1236686732 1235991841 694891

Figure 1 below shows the plot of actual population and estimated population versus time.

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Figure 1: Comparison of actual and estimated population of India

V. ERROR EQUATION, POPULATION CORRECTION, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Case 1:The Figure 2below shows the plot of error in estimation of population of India and also the best fit trend line
curve. It should be noted that the trend line is a polynomial line with equation of order 3. Also the R2 value is unity
indicating that it is the best fit trend line. A 3rd order polynomial equation is deduced using the available error from
year 2009 to 2012. Indeducing the equation the variable time t value used is t=1 for 2009, t=2 for year 2010 and so on.
The deduced equation is

−6596.5𝑡 3 +112593.5𝑡 2 − 191304𝑡 + 80787 = 𝑒𝑡 … … 5

Figure 2: Error in estimated population with trend line 1

To validate the equation (5), it is cross checked by substituting the value of time t for years at random pick. The
obtained errors are

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Year 2013, t= 5, e5= 1114542, Year 2014, t=6, e6= 1561485, Year 2015, t=7, e7= 1996141, Year 2020 t= 12, e12=
2599851, Year 2018, t=10, e10= 2830597, Year 2019, t=11, e11= 2810215, Year 2107, t=100, e100= -5489614613.
It can be observers from error e10, e11 and e12 for the year 2018, 2019 and 2020 that the error value is decreasing and
for the year 2107 the error value reaches to around 5.5 billion with a negative sign. As per logistic model the
population for year 2107 is estimated to 1.94 billion. This implies that the corrected population for the year 2107
would be approximately1.94 billion+ (-5.5 billion) = -3.56 billion.

This value seems to unrealistic and treacherous. Hence the polynomial trend line of order 3 is discarded.
Case 2: The figure 3 shows the plot of error in estimation of population of India and also the next best fit trend line
curve. It should be noted that the trend line is a polynomial equation of order 2. Also the R 2 value is 0.999 indicating
that it is the best fit trend line.A 2ndorder polynomial equation is deduced using the available error from year 2009 to
2012. In deducing the equation the variable time t value used is similar to case 1. The deduced equation is

63120𝑡 2 − 81142𝑡 + 11524 = 𝑒𝑡 … … (6)

Figure 3: Error in estimated population with trend line 2

To validate the equation (6), it is cross checked by substituting the value of time t for years at random pick. The
obtained errors are

Year 2013, t=5, e5= 1183814, Year 2014, t=6, e6= 1796992, Year 2015, t=7, e7= 2536410, Year 2020, t=12, e12=
8127100, Year 2018, t=10, e10= 5512104, Year 2019, t=11, e11= 6745482, Year 2107, t=100, e100= 623097324.
It can be observers from error e 10, e11 and e12for the year 2018, 2019 and 2020 that the error values are in good
agreement. For the year 2107 the error value reaches to around 0.62 billion. As per logistic model the population for
year 2107 is estimated to 1.94 billion. This implies that the corrected population for the year 2107 would be
approximately1.94 billion+ 0.62 billion = 2.56 billion.

This value seems to unrealistic and treacherous as the population is crossing the carrying capacity. Hence the
polynomial trend line of order 2 is discarded.
Case 3: The figure 4below shows the plot of error in estimation of population of India and also another trend line
curve. It should be noted that the trend line is a linear line. Also the R2 value is 0.944 indicating that it is a good trend
line.A linear equation is deduced using the available error from year 2009 to 2012. In deducing the equation the
variable time t value used are similar to case 1 and case 2. The deduced equation is

234450𝑡 − 304070 = 𝑒𝑡 … … 7

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Figure 4: Error in population estimation with trend line 3

To validate the equation (7), it is cross checked by substituting the value of time t for years at random pick. The
obtained errors are Year 2013, t=5, e5= 868180, Year 2014, t=6, e6= 1102630, Year 2015, t=7, e7= 1337080, Year
2020, t=12, e12= 2509330, Year 2018, t=10, e10= 2040430, Year 2019, t=11, e11= 2274880, Year 2107, t=100, e100=
23140930.
It can be observers from error e 10, e11 and e12for the year 2018, 2019 and 2020 that the error values are in good
agreement. For the year 2107 the error value reaches to around 0.024 billion. As per logistic model the population for
year 2107 is estimated to 1.94 billion. This implies that the corrected population for the year 2107 would be
approximately1.94 billion+ 0.024 billion = 1.964 billion.

This value seems to be realistic and satisfactory, though the value is approaching the carrying capacity of India
it can still be used for short time period. Hence the linear trend line is acceptable. Though the R 2 value is less
than case 1 and case 2 indicating decrease in accuracy of error estimation. The linear trend line gives realistic
results.
Estimated and corrected population of India from 2013 to 2025: the table 3 below shows the estimated population, the
projection of corrected population of India using the logistic model and the linear error equation from case 3 and
percentage increase in population with respect to year 2009.
Table 3: Estimated and corrected population of India
Year Notation of Estimated Notation Estimated Notation for Corrected % increase
estimated population for error error by corrected population in corrected
population by logistic by error error population estimation population
by logistic model equation equation estimation w.r.t. to year
model 2009
2013 P6 1251055202 e5 868180 P6= P6 + e5 1251923382 ---
2014 P7 1265997942 e6 1102630 P7= P7 + e6 1267100572 0.01
2015 P8 1280813934 e7 1337080 P8= P8 + e7 1282151014 0.02
2016 P9 1295497285 e8 1571530 P9= P9 + e8 1297068815 0.04
2017 P10 1310042342 e9 1805980 P10= P10 + e9 1311848322 0.05
2018 P11 1324443698 e10 2040430 P11= P11 + e10 1326484128 0.06
2019 P12 1338696196 e11 2274880 P12= P12 + e11 1340971076 0.07
2020 P13 1352794940 e12 2509330 P13= P13+ e12 1355304270 0.08
2021 P14 1366735291 e13 2743780 P14= P14 + e13 1369479071 0.09
2022 P15 1380512879 e14 2978230 P15= P15 + e14 1383491109 0.11
2023 P16 1394123595 e15 3212680 P16= P16 + e15 1397336275 0.12
2024 P17 1407563602 e16 3447130 P17= P17 + e16 1411010732 0.13
2025 P18 1420829329 e17 3681580 P18= P18 + e17 1424510909 0.14
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The figure5 below shows a plot ofcorrected population of India from year 2013 to 2025.

Figure 5: Corrected population of India

VI. CONCLUSION

Projection of population growth of India is important form sustainability point. The environment should be able to
support the population, for this not only the environment but the nation should also contribute to control the population
growth. The logistic approach is a good tool to predict population of India and any habitat in general. Though the
estimated population consists of some errors the accuracy of prediction can be improved by incorporating an error
equation. In this work an attempt of minimizing the error in prediction of population of India has been reduced to
certain extent by incorporating a linear error equation. This error equation though holds good for short time period,
certainly improves the result. The results can be improved by incorporating factors of correction like the constant „A‟
and the constant „k‟ in logistic equation which tend to change as the reference year or time zero year changes. It should
also be noted that for India to reach its carrying capacity of 2 billion, it would take more than a century.To sun up all
the discussion it is concluded that the logistic approach incorporated with error equation is a good tool in population
estimation.

REFERENCES

1. Tsoularis, “Analysis of Logistic Growth Models”, Res. Lett. Math. Sci, 2, 23-46, 2001.
2. J. N.Kapur and Q. J. A. Khan, Some Mathematical Model for Population growth, Indian Journal of Pure Applied Mathematics, 10(3): 277-286,
March 1979.
3. Therese M. Donovan and Charles W. Welden, “Spreadsheet Exercises in Ecology and Evolution”, Copyright © 2002 by Sinauer Associates, Inc.
P110-113.
4. PremaRamachandran, Mohan Singh, A.N. Kapoor , K.K. Lamba,“Population Growth: Trends, Projections, Challenges and Opportunities”
Planning Commission, Government of India.
5. Carl Haub and O. P. Sharma, “India‟s Population Reality: Reconciling Change and Tradition”, Population Bulletin, Population Reference
Bureau, September 2006.
6. M. Lakshamana, “Population, Development and Environment in India”,Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment,
7. Vol. 11, No. 4, 367–374, 2013.
8. Population of India from World Bank webpage- http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL
9. Gretchen C. Daily and Paul R. Ehrlich, “Population, Sustainability, and Earth's Carrying Capacity: A framework for estimating population
sizesandlifestylesthat could be sustained without undermining future generations”, BioScience, November, 1992.

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