Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
India is the seventh-largest country in the world. To understand India's global standing, geographers compare its land area and population to world totals. This comparison highlights the intense pressure on land resources in the Indian subcontinent.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's look at the specific figures:
- Land Area: India's total geographical area is approximately 3.28 million square kilometers. The total land area of the Earth is roughly 148.9 million square kilometers.
- Calculation: When we calculate India's share as a percentage of the total world land area, it comes out to approximately 2.4%.
- Comparison with Population: It is critical to note that while India occupies only 2.4% of the world's land area, it supports about 17.5% of the world's total population (as per the 2011 census). This stark contrast between land area and population is a major theme in Indian economic geography.
Options like 4.2% or 7.5% have no basis in this context, while 17.5% refers to population, not land area.
Step 3: Final Answer:
India accounts for 2.4% of the total land area of the world. Therefore, option (B) is the correct answer.