KS3 · Geography

People and cities of India

Dev has grown up in an Indian village. A cousin phones from Mumbai: 'Come and work here.' Should Dev go? It's a harder question than it sounds.

Geography · India

Is moving to Mumbai a good decision?

The claim

Moving to Mumbai is a good decision for a migrant from rural India.

Place each piece of evidence to load the balance. Mark the strong ones — they count double.

  1. Mumbai offers jobs in banking, business, technology and entertainment, including Bollywood, India's major film industry. Large companies such as Tata and the State Bank of India are based there.

    Evidence 1: does it support or challenge the claim?

  2. Friends and family already living in the city can help a newcomer find a job and a place to live.

    Evidence 2: does it support or challenge the claim?

  3. Cities can offer higher incomes and higher-quality education and healthcare than the countryside.

    Evidence 3: does it support or challenge the claim?

  4. Dharavi, one of the largest informal settlements in the world, has a strong sense of community and a thriving informal economy, with leather making, recycling, pottery and textiles.

    Evidence 4: does it support or challenge the claim?

  5. Mumbai is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Property prices have risen, affordable housing has become scarce and many low-income residents live in informal settlements.

    Evidence 5: does it support or challenge the claim?

  6. Many newcomers end up in the informal job sector, where work is often temporary or unregulated.

    Evidence 6: does it support or challenge the claim?

  7. Everyday life is a squeeze: the transport system is very busy and congested, and it can be dangerous at rush hour on the railways. Air and water pollution pose serious health risks.

    Evidence 7: does it support or challenge the claim?

  8. There are high levels of inequality in Mumbai: resources and opportunities are not shared equally among people.

    Evidence 8: does it support or challenge the claim?

Geography · India

How crowded is India?

India has over 1.4 billion people, and it has now overtaken China as the largest population in the world. On average, how many people live in each square kilometre of India? Picture a square 1 km by 1 km, then slide to your estimate.

Your estimate

500 people per km²

0 people per km²1000 people per km²

Watch out: An average is one number for a whole country. It does not tell you which places are packed and which are nearly empty.

Geography · Migration

Push or pull?

Is each reason a push factor (a reason to leave) or a pull factor (a reason to go somewhere new)?

Still to sort

Push factor (0)

A reason prompting people to leave the place they live.

Where the line is: Look for something about the place being left, such as a shortage, a hazard or a loss.

Pull factor (0)

A reason attracting people to a new place.

Where the line is: Look for something the city offers that people want, such as work, support or better services.

10 of 10 still to sort.

Each year thousands of people move from rural areas to cities in India. Decide whether each reason pushes people out of the countryside or pulls them towards a city.

Watch out: Watch the place. Water, electricity and sanitation can be a push when they are poor in the village and a pull when they are better in the city. Same service, opposite side.

Geography · Migration

Who feels it, and is it good or bad?

For each effect of rural-to-urban migration, tick 'Felt in the city' if it is felt in the city (leave it blank if it is felt in the countryside), and tick 'A benefit' if it helps (leave it blank if it is a challenge).

The economy grows
Cultural diversity increases
Pressure on services
Tensions between residents and newcomers
Money sent home
More land and resources to share
Fewer young people and workers

Geography · Cities

What is a global city?

Mumbai is India's financial capital, and it is called a global city.

Which of these is closest to what you think 'global city' means?
How sure are you?

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Why do people leave the countryside for a city like Mumbai, and what do they find when they get there?

What you need to know

  • India has over 1.4 billion people. It has overtaken China as the largest population in the world.
  • The average density is 479 people per square kilometre, but cities are packed while much of the Himalayas is sparse.
  • Have a goYour friend Sam says: 'India has 479 people in every square kilometre, so even the Himalayas must be rammed.' How do you reply?

    479 is only an average. Some places have far more people and some far fewer.

    An average hides variation: cities are densely populated, but some rural areas, such as much of the Himalayas, are sparsely populated.

  • Each year thousands of people move from villages to cities, so India's urban share rose between 1960 and 2022.
  • Migration means moving somewhere with the intention of staying. Push factors prompt people to leave; pull factors attract them to a new place.
  • Have a goFinish the sentence: a push factor is about the place you are ___, and a pull factor is about the place you are ___.

    Leaving; heading for.

    Push factors are reasons prompting people to leave where they live, while pull factors are reasons attracting people to a new place.

  • Not every migrant is forced to move. Work, education, family, services, living environment or safety can all be reasons.
  • Migration brings benefits and challenges to both the city and the countryside left behind.
  • A global city is a well-connected centre of trade and communication, with transport and financial links across the world.
  • A megacity has more than 10 million people, and not all global cities are megacities.
  • Have a goImagine two cities: Alphaville has 12 million people and Betaton has 9 million. Which is a megacity, and can you tell if Alphaville is a global city?

    Alphaville is a megacity. Its size alone doesn't tell you whether it's a global city.

    A megacity has more than 10 million people, but a global city depends on being well connected, and not all global cities are megacities.

  • Mumbai, India's financial capital, grew from a small fishing port. It offers big opportunities and serious challenges.

The big picture

Over 1.4 billion people live in India, and each year thousands move from villages to cities. Push factors drive people away from the place they live, and pull factors attract them to a new one, but not every migrant is forced to move. Migration brings both benefits and challenges to the city and to the countryside left behind. Mumbai, India's financial capital and a global city, shows the whole story: big opportunities in banking, business, technology and Bollywood, alongside informal settlements such as Dharavi, insecure work, crowded transport, pollution and inequality.

Key points

1India has over 1.4 billion people, and an average density of 479 people per square kilometre that hides big differences between places.
2Push factors prompt people to leave where they live; pull factors attract them to a new place. Not all migrants are forced to move.
3Rural-to-urban migration brings both benefits and challenges to cities and to the countryside.
4A global city is well connected; a megacity has more than 10 million people; not all global cities are megacities.
5Mumbai offers jobs, services and community alongside informal settlements, insecure work, crowded transport, pollution and inequality.

Worked example

Problem

A classmate writes: 'People in India are forced out of villages and move to Mumbai, where everything is better.' Rewrite it as a stronger, more balanced answer.

⚠ Watch out

Thinking migrants are simply forced out of poor villages into rich cities. Push and pull factors both matter, many people choose to move, and the city brings challenges as well as opportunities.

🧠

Memory hook

Push is the place you are leaving; pull is the place you are heading for. And Mumbai? Opportunity and hardship, in the same city.

✓

Check yourself

Without looking back: name one push factor and one pull factor. Then name one benefit and one challenge of migration, saying whether the city or the countryside feels each.

Flashcards

(12)
Migration
Moving from one place to another with the intention of staying there.
Push factor
A reason prompting people to leave the place they live, such as lack of jobs, hazards or conflict.
Pull factor
A reason attracting people to a new place, such as more jobs, better living conditions or better services.
Global city
A well-connected city: a major centre for trade and communication, with good transport and financial links across the world. Mumbai is an example.
Megacity
A city with a population of more than 10 million people. Not all global cities are megacities.
Transnational corporation
A large business that operates in many different countries, such as Tata or the State Bank of India, both based in Mumbai.
Informal settlement
Makeshift, unplanned housing where residents do not own the land or have access to services like clean water, power or sanitation.
Informal job sector
Work that is often temporary or unregulated, where wages are typically lower and workers rarely have job security or benefits.
Inequality
When resources or opportunities are not shared equally among people, including access to education, healthcare, housing, jobs, clean water and sanitation.
India's average population density
479 people per square kilometre, though urban areas are dense and some rural areas, such as much of the Himalayas, are sparse.
Dharavi
One of the largest informal settlements in the world: very crowded, with daily struggles for clean water and sanitation, but also a strong community and a thriving informal economy.
How did Mumbai grow?
It was once a small fishing port. Its population increased, more land became built up and its infrastructure developed.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

Learning with Lightbulb is opening soon

You can use this lesson now. Join the waitlist and we'll let you know when the full Lightbulb experience is ready.

Keep me posted

More KS3 Geography topics

See the full KS3 Geography curriculum →

How this lesson was checked. This KS3 Geographylesson was published through Lightbulb Learning's human-designed editorial process — the educational standards, accuracy rules and publication checks it must pass were authored and approved by Philip Halpin. It passed subject-specific assessment, automated educational checks and technical publication verification before going live (publication checks completed 9 October 2026). Published pages are monitored, human spot-checking is ongoing across the lesson library, and anything found wrong is corrected or withdrawn. How our lessons are made and checked. Spotted a mistake? Email hello@lightbulblearning.co and we'll review it.