(i) Industrialization altered ancient pattern of human existence. Most of the people all over the world were settled agriculturists in 1900, which cultivated crops and animals and lived in villages. In many parts of the world people existed as nomads, grazing herds of animals, and many were tribal hunter- gatherers.

(ii) Cities had existed since ancient times in many parts of the world, but they were limited in size and population."

(iii) However, capitalist industrialization led to urbanisation and faster growth of population in cities. By 1900 Europe had a larger concentration of cities than any other region in the world; more than 100 cities had a population of at least 1,00,000 people, and there were six European cities with about 10,00,000 inhabitants.

(iv) Europe and America had the largest cities, whereas in Asia and Africa large expanses of territory contained few cities and many stagnated and declined compared to hundreds of years earlier.

(v) In general human populations of Asia, Africa and South America in 1900 were 75-95% rural, or living in villages and dependent on agriculture. Industrializing Europe, or Americas and Australia where people of European origin had settled, either already had or were close to having 50% urban population, i.e., living in towns and cities..

(vi) Industrialization led to the creation of capitalist classes and salaried middle classes which included teachers, doctors, engineers, clerks etc. Besides there were a large number of factory workers who depended for their livelihood on their labour for which they got wages.

(vii) Another characteristic of industrialization was that production and sharing of knowledge in society became more closely connected than before with urban life. By 1900 most industrial societies required that both boys and girls receive basic education, at least upto the age of thirteen or fourteen. There arose a knowledge and cultural gap between urban and rural people. As a whole, adult literacy in some western societies by 1900 was between 60% and 90%, while it was much less in non-western societies.