Why in the news
The Office of the Registrar General of India issued the Sample Registration System Bulletin 2023 (Vol. 58, No. 1). Compared with 1971, birth, death, infant mortality and fertility levels have fallen steeply, though rural-urban and state-level gaps remain.
Key facts
- Birth rate: 18.4 per 1,000, against 36.9 in 1971 and 21.4 in 2013.
- Death rate: 6.4, against 14.9 in 1971 and 7.0 in 2013.
- IMR: 25 per 1,000 live births, against 129 in 1971; a 37.5% fall in the last decade.
- TFR: 1.9 children per woman, down from 5.2 in 1971.
- Replacement-level fertility: 18 states/UTs are now below it.
National indicators by area
| Indicator | India | Rural | Urban |
|---|
| Birth rate | 18.4 | 20.3 | 14.9 |
| Death rate | 6.4 | 6.8 | 5.7 |
| IMR | 25 | 28 | 18 |
| TFR | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
State extremes
| Indicator | Highest | Lowest |
|---|
| Birth rate | Bihar (25.8) | Andaman & Nicobar Islands (10.1) |
| Death rate | Chhattisgarh (8.3) | Chandigarh (4.0) |
| IMR | Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (37 each) | Manipur (3) |
| TFR | Bihar (2.8) | Delhi (1.2) |
More findings
- Death rate: men 7.2, women 5.7. IMR: male 26, female 25.
- Birth rates after Bihar: Uttar Pradesh 23.6, Rajasthan 22.9; lowest also include Tamil Nadu (12.0) and Kerala (12.3).
- Sex ratio at birth (2021-23): India 917 girls per 1,000 boys; best in Chhattisgarh (974) and Kerala (971); lowest in Uttarakhand (868) and Haryana (871).
- Life expectancy (2019-23): males 68.5 years, females 72.5 years.
Concerns
- Rural-urban and inter-state gaps persist.
- Bihar’s sex ratio at birth slipped sharply from 964 to 897.
- Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Assam lag behind the national life expectancy by 5-7 years.
Exam angle
- Publisher: Office of the Registrar General of India.
- Replacement-level TFR: 2.1; India’s TFR: 1.9.
- Lowest IMR: Manipur; highest birth rate: Bihar.