This chapter discusses the growth of population in the Indian subcontinent during the period 1757-1947 and the determinants of the observed growth rates including mortality, fertility and migration. Even prior to the censuses conducted during 1867-72, enumerations of populations and houses were attempted in different parts of the country and in cities like Benares, Dacca, Bombay. A brief examination of these regional data provides a rough guide to the pre-census growth of population. The censuses conducted between 1867 and 1872 actually paved the way for the uninterrupted series of decennial censuses in the Indian subcontinent, which have been the major source of information on trends in population and its characteristics. The census data have been compiled for territorial units down to at least the district level, and in some cases to taluka or tehsil level. The chapter discusses the rate of growth, sex ratio, the age composition of the population and fertility and mortality estimates derived from the census data.

On 14 August 1947 the Indian sub-continent was partitioned, and Pakistan was carved out of the north-western and north-eastern parts of British India. An account of the Pakistan economy since Independence has to begin with its initial endowment and the effects of Partition. To describe and analyse the broad trends in the economy since Independence one has to use Pakistan's national income accounts and other such available data, although the statistics may not be accurate. Between 1949-50 and 1969-70 the economy made considerable progress in industrial, commercial, and also agricultural development. In contrast to the relative stagnation during the period from Independence to 1959-60 when nothing except nascent large-scale manufacturing grew faster than population, the period from 1959-60 through 1969-70 is one of quite remarkable growth of the Pakistan economy. In the immediate post-Independence period the major portion of imports consisted of manufactured consumer goods.

The Indian sub-continent enclosed by these ranges and the sea, approximately between latitudes 8° N and 37° N and longitudes 61° E and 97° 30' E, contains two broad physical divisions, the Indo-Gangetic plains and the peninsula. The Indo-Gangetic plains cover less than a third of the area of the sub-continent. South of the plains, lies the peninsular block, consisting of series of hills, scarps, plateaus and valleys, interspersed with some sizeable stretches of alluvium, notably, the Gujarat plains, Orissa, coastal Andhra, Tamilnadu and the Kerala coast. The Brahmaputra river made a large bend eastwards after its entry into Bengal. This channel carried its main stream well to the east of Dacca. Until an advanced stage of industrialization is reached in a country, the distribution of its population is likely to be governed by agricultural productivity. In the Indus delta, there was a firmly sited inner port, Thatta, near the head of the delta.