Best Geography Books For UPSC Exam 2025
A list of Geography books for UPSC will help the candidates prepare well for the UPSC Prelims and Mains exam. In the UPSC IAS exam, Geography is one of the 48 optional subjects that candidates can choose as their optional. The Geography Optional Syllabus also overlaps with the IAS Prelims & Mains GS Papers 1. So, it is important to have the best geography book for UPSC exam. In this article, we have categorised the Geography optional books for mains optional papers 1 & 2, candidates can also check the list of World Geography and Indian Geography Books here.
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Best Geography Book For UPSC
You must understand the scope and sub-topics before beginning your study using the Geography Optional Books. In contrast to traditional science, geography is a scientific discipline where we study everything from the cosmos to physical topography, and from climate to population and the factors that affect them. Many candidates with backgrounds in research, medicine, and engineering also prefer referring to these books. Not much mugging up is necessary, however, key points and figures must be memorized. By reading the Best Geography Book for UPSC, you can achieve a good score in the prelims & mains GS paper 1 and also in the Geography optional papers. Candidates can download the list of geography books for UPSC and keep a copy of the same for future reference.
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Geography Optional Books For Paper 1
The Geography Optional Paper 1 focuses on the Physical and Human Geography topics & sub-topics. To prepare well for these topics, you will need the right set of books. Have a look at the list of Geography books for UPSC optional paper 1 in the table below.
| Book Name | Publisher/Author | Book Description |
| A Geography by Population | R.C Chandna | This book comprises maps and data related to world geography and patterns related to World Geography. Candidates can use this book for GS Paper-1 as well as for the optional paper. |
| Agricultural Geography | Majid Husain | Candidates can complete the whole syllabus of agricultural geography in depth by studying Majib Hussain's Agricultural Geography book. |
| Climatology | D.S.Lal | A comprehensive textbook, it covers atmosphere and climate-related topics in full chapters. |
| Economic and Social Geography | R.Knowles & J.Wareing | This book covers all of the major topics of economic and social geo, including conceptual explanations, MCQs, and practise sets. |
| Economic Geography | Hartshorn & Truman A | It blends objective questions about economic geography ideas with informative chapter-by-chapter examples. |
| Environmental Awareness | R.C.Chandna | This book goes topic-by-topic over environmental awareness activities, complete explanations with practice MCQs, solved papers, and other competitive exam questions. |
| Environmental Geography | Savindra Singh | It is a complete study guide for environmental geography containing important UPSC Geography Optional exam syllabus topics. |
| General Climatology | Critchfield | The book includes several simple ways to comprehend broad concepts of climatology. All of the concepts covered in the book are straightforward and simple to understand. |
| Geomorphology | Savindra Singh | This Geomorphology book by Savindra Singh has numerous examples, ideas, and quick methods for understanding of geographical changes and factors that affect it. |
| Human Geography | Majid Husain | This book covers a wide range of Human Geography topics from which questions are frequently asked in the UPSC Geography optional exam. |
| Oceanography | Sharma & Vatal, NCERT | It covers a variety of key Oceanography topics and includes previous year's exam papers with questions for practise tests. |
| Physical Geography | Richard H Bryant | The book includes all of the Physical Geography questions that can be found in various competitive tests |
| Introducing Physical Geography | Alan Strahler | This is the best book for understanding the fundamentals of physical geography, followed by detailed explanation of important concepts. |
| Political Geography | R.D.Dixit | One of the best UPSC Geography optional books, it covers all essential concepts and topics related to political geography. |
| Principles of Geomorphology | W.D. Thornbury | This book is a comprehensive guide to geomorphology based on the most recent UPSC syllabus for the UPSC Geography optional exam. |
Also, read and download Geography Notes for UPSC.
Geography Optional Books For Paper 2
The UPSC Geography optional paper 2 focuses on the topics and sub-topics related to Indian Geography. It is also mandatory to solve one map question in this paper. You must practice maps by referring to some Atlas for UPSC. Check the table given below for the list of best books for geography optional paper 2.
| Book Name | Publisher/Author | Book Description |
| A Geography of India | Gopal Singh | One of the most comprehensive texts to prepare for Geography, this book covers topics for both UPSC Prelims, and Mains. |
| Agriculture Geography | Majid Husain | Candidates can complete the whole syllabus of Agriculture related Geography by studying Majib Hussain's Agricultural Geography book. |
| Economic and Commercial Geography of India | C.B. Mamoria | This book covers all of the major topics of economical and commercial Geography of India, including conceptual explanations, MCQs, and practice sets. |
| Environmental Awareness | R.C.Chandna | This book goes over topic-by-topic environmental awareness activities, complete with practice MCQs, solved papers, and other competitive exams. |
| Environmental Geography | Savinder Singh | It is a complete Environmental Geography study guide containing pertinent topics for UPSC Geography Optional exam. |
| Geography of India | Majid Husain | A highly-recommended reference book for preparing for Geography for UPSC optional, it covers features and topics of India’s geographical landscape in a systematic manner. Topics such as resources, irrigation, public transport, cropping patterns etc.. are covered in this book. |
| Geography of Population | R.C. Chandna | This book comprises maps and data related to world geography and patterns related to World Geography. |
| Oxford School Atlas | Oxford | One of the must-have Geography books for UPSC, this textbook includes thematic maps of India, as well as charts and diagrams that help with the cartographic understanding. |
| Modern Political Geography of India | B.L. Sukhwal | This book talks about the various geographical states of the Indian subcontinent from a political perspective, including the integration of Indian states, the Kashmir dilemma and more. |
Solve multiple UPSC Geography optional previous year papers here.
Important Topics To Read From Geography Optional Books
A thorough understanding of Indian Geography, Human Geography and World Geography is crucial if you are preparing for the UPSC Prelims exam. Several topics from this portion overlap with the Geography portion in IAS General Studies Paper-1 and the two Geography optional papers in Mains.
Check out some of the important topics for UPSC Geography optional listed in the table below.
Know more about choosing Geography as an optional subject in IAS Mains.
We hope this article on Best Geography Book For UPSC will help you in the exam preparation. Download the Testbook App for free to access more information and study materials. You may now beat your competition with Testbook’s professional notes, in-person coaching, and much more for a variety of national competitive exams.
