Why in the news
The 2024 bulletin of the Sample Registration System (SRS), put out by the Registrar General’s office, gives a fresh look at ten years of demographic change. Overall results are good, but rural areas still trail.
Key facts
- Issuing office: ORGI, which functions under the Home Ministry.
- Crude Birth Rate: 21 per 1,000 in 2014 to 18.3 in 2024.
- Crude Death Rate: 6.7 to 6.4 – a small drop.
- Infant Mortality Rate: the biggest gain, 39 to 24 per 1,000 live births.
- National goal: single-digit IMR; SDG 3.2 asks for under-5 mortality of 25 or less per 1,000 live births by 2030.
National trend, 2014 vs 2024
| Indicator | 2014 | 2024 |
|---|
| Birth rate | 21 | 18.3 |
| Death rate | 6.7 | 6.4 |
| IMR | 39 | 24 |
Rural versus urban (2014 to 2024)
| Indicator | Rural | Urban |
|---|
| Birth rate | 22.7 to 20.2 | 17.4 to 14.7 |
| Death rate | 7.3 to 6.8 | 5.5 to 5.6 (slight rise) |
| IMR | 43 to 27 | 26 to 17 |
Best performers
| Group | Leader | Natural growth rate | IMR |
|---|
| Larger states (first) | Kerala | 3.9 | 8 |
| Larger states (second) | Tamil Nadu | 4.8 | 11 |
| Smaller states | Goa | 4.2 | 11 |
| Union Territories | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 4.1 | 9 |
Rural-urban gap
- Rural IMR (27) is about 59% above urban (17); rural birth rate (20.2) is about 37% above urban (14.7).
- Rural India pulls the national averages down.
About SRS and the terms
- SRS: large demographic survey by ORGI giving annual estimates of birth, death, infant mortality and fertility through dual-record sampling in sample rural and urban units; the main source for vital statistics between Censuses.
- IMR: deaths under one year per 1,000 live births.
- CBR and CDR: live births and deaths per 1,000 population.
- Natural Growth Rate: growth from births and deaths without migration, worked out as (CBR minus CDR) divided by 10.
Exam angle
- Key numbers: CBR 18.3, CDR 6.4, IMR 24.
- Kerala has IMR 8, the only single-digit figure among larger states in the data.
- Publisher: ORGI under MHA.