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Class 10 Civics: Outcomes of Democracy, 8 practice questions with answers

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These are 8 practice questions on Chapter 5, Outcomes of Democracy, of the NCERT Class 10 Political Science textbook, Democratic Politics II. Each has a worked answer and the textbook page it comes from. Two of them read the chapter's South Asia survey charts on support for democracy, two work with its tables on economic growth and income inequality, and one reads its graph on whether people think their vote counts. The other three ask you to sort true and false claims about democracy's record, test made-up countries against the chapter's two conditions for majority rule, and judge three assertion-and-reason pairs. Try each one on paper before you open the answer.

These questions are our own, drafted with AI help. Every fact was checked against the textbook page it cites, but no practising teacher has reviewed them yet. If you find a mistake, please tell us.

How this chapter is examined

In CBSE's Social Science paper for 2026-27, Political Science carries 20 of the 80 marks, shared by five chapters, this one among them (curriculum, page 2). CBSE gives no separate figure for this chapter, and it has no map item. The curriculum's learning outcome for it is to explain how a democracy's success turns on how good its government is, people's economic well-being, inequality, how it handles social differences and conflict, and freedom and dignity (page 5). The paper has 1-mark multiple-choice questions (including assertion and reason), 2, 3 and 5-mark answers, and 4-mark case studies (page 10).

What the chapter says you need

Facts from the NCERT textbook (Democratic Politics II, Class X, Chapter 5, printed pages 63 to 74):

Who prefers democracy in South Asia?

Question 1. A table in the chapter gives, for five South Asian countries, the percentage of people who agree with each of three statements. "Democracy is preferable": Bangladesh 69, India 70, Nepal 62, Pakistan 37, Sri Lanka 71 (South Asia as a whole, 62). "Sometimes dictatorship is better": 6, 9, 10, 14 and 11 (South Asia, 10). "Doesn't matter to me": 25, 21, 28, 49 and 18 (South Asia, 28). (a) Which country has the highest share saying democracy is preferable, which the lowest, and how many points is the lowest below the South Asia figure? (b) In which country is "democracy is preferable" not the most common answer, and what is? (c) Even there, does dictatorship win more support than democracy? For India, how many points ahead of "sometimes dictatorship is better" is "democracy is preferable"?

Answer: (a) highest Sri Lanka (71), lowest Pakistan (37), 25 points below South Asia's 62; (b) Pakistan, where "doesn't matter to me" (49) is the most common answer; (c) no: in Pakistan 37 prefer democracy and 14 dictatorship, 23 points apart; in India the gap is 61 points. (a) 62 − 37 = 25 (table, page 66). (b) In every other country, "democracy is preferable" is the largest of the three figures (page 66). (c) 37 − 14 = 23 and 70 − 9 = 61. Each row adds up to 100 (page 66). (The subtractions are our own.)

Is democracy suitable, and should elected leaders rule?

Question 2. Two bar charts on the same page give the percentage who say democracy is suitable for their country (India 92, Bangladesh 93, Sri Lanka 92, Nepal 79, Pakistan 84; South Asia 88) and the percentage who agree that leaders elected by the people should rule (India 95, Bangladesh 96, Sri Lanka 98, Nepal 94, Pakistan 81; South Asia 94). (a) For each country, by how many points does support for elected leaders exceed the share calling democracy suitable? Which country has the largest gap, and in which is the gap the other way? (b) In Pakistan, compare the 81 per cent who back rule by elected leaders with the 37 per cent from Question 1. What does the chapter conclude from this kind of evidence about democracy's legitimacy?

Answer: (a) India 3, Bangladesh 3, Sri Lanka 6, Nepal 15 (the largest), and Pakistan −3: there, more people call democracy suitable (84) than back elected leaders (81); (b) 44 points apart: even where fewer people pick democracy over the other options, most want to be ruled by leaders they elect. The chapter says support for democracy exists in countries with democratic regimes and without them, and that the way democracy builds up support for itself is an outcome in its own right. (a) 95 − 92 = 3, 96 − 93 = 3, 98 − 92 = 6, 94 − 79 = 15, 81 − 84 = −3 (charts, page 66). (b) 81 − 37 = 44. A democratic government may be slow or not always clean, but it is the people's own government, which is why support for the idea is overwhelming (page 66). (The calculations are our own.)

Growth under democracies and dictatorships

Question 3. Table 1 in the chapter gives average yearly rates of economic growth from 1950 to 2000: all democratic regimes 3.95 per cent, all dictatorial regimes 4.42, poor countries under dictatorship 4.34, poor countries under democracy 4.28. (a) Find the gap between dictatorships and democracies overall, and among poor countries. Roughly what fraction of the overall gap is the poor-country gap? (b) Start two economies at 100 and let each grow for ten years at a steady rate. Compare 4.42 with 3.95, then 4.34 with 4.28. (c) What does the chapter conclude about democracy and development, and why is growth not a reason to reject democracy?

Answer: (a) 0.47 points overall, 0.06 among poor countries: about one-eighth; (b) about 154.1 against 147.3 (6.8 apart), but 152.9 against 152.1 among poor countries (0.8 apart); (c) democracy is no guarantee of development, but it can be expected not to lag behind dictatorships. Growth depends on many other things, such as population size, the global situation, cooperation from other countries and the country's economic priorities. (a) 4.42 − 3.95 = 0.47 and 4.34 − 4.28 = 0.06 (Table 1, page 68); 0.47 ÷ 0.06 is about 7.8. (b) 100 × 1.0442¹⁰ ≈ 154.1, 100 × 1.0395¹⁰ ≈ 147.3, 100 × 1.0434¹⁰ ≈ 152.9 and 100 × 1.0428¹⁰ ≈ 152.1. (c) Pages 67 to 68: dictatorships grew slightly faster on average, but among poor countries the difference is negligible, and democracy has other positive outcomes. (The ten-year sums are our own.)

How income is shared

Question 4. Table 2 in the chapter gives the share of national income that goes to the top 20 per cent and to the bottom 20 per cent of people: South Africa 64.8 and 2.9; Brazil 63.0 and 2.6; Russia 53.7 and 4.4; USA 50.0 and 4.0; United Kingdom 45.0 and 6.0; Denmark 34.5 and 9.6; Hungary 34.4 and 10.0. (a) For each country, how many times the bottom fifth's share is the top fifth's? Rank the countries from most to least unequal on this measure. Is the country with the biggest top-fifth share also the most unequal on this measure? (b) What share is left for the middle 60 per cent in South Africa and in Hungary? (c) What does the chapter say about democracy and economic inequality?

Answer: (a) South Africa 22.3, Brazil 24.2, Russia 12.2, USA 12.5, UK 7.5, Denmark 3.6, Hungary 3.4. From most to least unequal: Brazil, South Africa, USA, Russia, UK, Denmark, Hungary. No: South Africa has the biggest top share, but Brazil's ratio is higher, because its bottom fifth gets even less. (b) 32.3 per cent in South Africa, 55.6 per cent in Hungary. (c) Every voter has equal weight, yet economic inequality has grown, a few very rich people hold a highly disproportionate share, and democracies have not been very successful in reducing it. (a) For example 64.8 ÷ 2.9 ≈ 22.3 and 63.0 ÷ 2.6 ≈ 24.2 (Table 2, page 68). The chapter's own reading is that in South Africa and Brazil the top fifth takes more than 60 per cent and the bottom fifth less than 3 per cent, while Denmark and Hungary do much better (page 68). (b) 100 − 64.8 − 2.9 = 32.3 and 100 − 34.4 − 10.0 = 55.6. (c) Page 69. (The ratios and the middle shares are our own.)

Democracy's record: true or false?

Question 5. Say whether each claim matches the chapter. Correct the false ones.

  1. Democracies have done better at holding regular, free elections than at sharing information with citizens.
  2. The evidence shows that non-democratic governments are less corrupt than democratic ones.
  3. Taken together, dictatorships grew slightly faster than democracies between 1950 and 2000.
  4. Because the poor make up a large share of voters, elected governments have been quick to deal with poverty.

Answer: 1 true; 2 false; 3 true; 4 false. (1) Democracies have had greater success with regular, free elections and open public debate, and a poor record on sharing information (pages 65 to 66). (2) Democracies are not free of corruption, but nothing shows that governments without democracy are cleaner or pay more attention to people (page 66). (3) True, though among poor countries the difference is negligible (page 67). (4) No party wants to lose the votes of the poor, yet elected governments do not seem as keen on poverty as you would expect (page 69).

Majority rule that includes everyone

Question 6. The chapter names two conditions a democracy must meet to handle social differences: the majority must work with the minority, and rule by majority must not turn into rule by the majority community of one religion, race or language. Test each made-up country. Say whether it meets both conditions, and if not, which one it fails.

  1. Country P: the law says that only people born into the largest religious group may become ministers.
  2. Country Q: a farmers' party and a city-based party win elections in turn, and on a new water law, members from three language groups vote together to pass it.
  3. Country R: the winning party changes the language used in schools in a minority region without consulting the opposition or the people of that region.

Then: which country does the chapter hold up as a success at negotiating ethnic differences, and which as a warning?

Answer: P fails the second condition; Q meets both; R fails the first. Belgium is the success, and Sri Lanka the warning. (1) In P, people are barred from power by birth, so the system stops being accommodative for them: a democracy stays a democracy only while every citizen can hope to be part of a majority at some point (pages 70 to 71). (2) In Q, majorities form differently on different decisions, so no group is a permanent majority or minority (pages 70 to 71). (3) In R, the majority ignores the minority on a matter that affects it, so the government does not represent the general view (page 70). Belgium and Sri Lanka, page 70. (The three countries are our own.)

Does my vote make a difference?

Question 7. A bar chart near the end of the chapter shows the percentage of people who say their vote makes a difference: India 67, Bangladesh 66, Sri Lanka 65, Nepal 75, Pakistan 50; South Asia 65. (a) Which country has the highest figure, which the lowest, and how far apart are they? Which countries are above the South Asia figure? (b) Roughly what fraction of people in India say their vote counts? (c) The same section says that people's complaints about democracy are a sign of its success. Explain this in two or three sentences, using the idea of a subject and a citizen.

Answer: (a) Nepal (75) highest, Pakistan (50) lowest, 25 points apart; Bangladesh, India and Nepal are above 65, and Sri Lanka equals it; (b) about two in three (67 in 100); (c) as people gain some benefits of democracy, they expect more, so its test never ends. Complaining shows that people have become aware and can look critically at those in power. That turns a person from a subject, who only obeys, into a citizen, who believes their vote makes a difference to how they are governed. (a) 75 − 50 = 25 (chart, page 72). (b) 67 out of 100 is close to 2 out of 3. (c) Page 72. (The subtraction and fraction are our own.)

Assertion and reason

Question 8. For each pair, choose: (A) both true, and R explains A; (B) both true, but R does not explain A; (C) A true, R false; (D) A false, R true.

  1. A: A democratic government is legitimate even when it is slow and not always clean. R: A democratic government is the people's own government.
  2. A: Once a democracy accepts equal treatment of women as a principle, women are always treated with respect. R: Long struggles by women have built sensitivity that respect and equal treatment of women are needed in a democratic society.
  3. A: Democracies have not been very successful in reducing economic inequality. R: In a democracy, every individual has equal weight in electing representatives.

Answer: 1 (A); 2 (D); 3 (B). (1) Both are true, and R is the chapter's own reason for A (page 66). (2) A is false: accepting the principle does not mean women are always respected, though it makes their struggle easier because unequal treatment then has no legal or moral basis. R is true (pages 71 to 72). (3) Both are true (page 69), but political equality is not why inequality persists; the chapter sets the two side by side as a contrast.

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Sources

All opened and read on 3 November 2026. Page numbers are the printed page numbers of the textbook.

The facts, figures and graphics are from the textbook pages above. The questions, worked answers, the sums and the examples marked as ours are our own. This guide is general information; follow your teacher and the official CBSE notices.

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