Context: The Registrar General of India (RGI) has recently released the Sample Registration System (SRS) Report for 2021. Among other data, the report provides insights about the key trends of Total Fertility Rate in India.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key trends about Total Fertility Rate in India.
What is Total Fertility Rate?
- Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime if:
- They were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime.
- They were to live from birth until the end of their reproductive life.
- Replacement level fertility is the level of fertility at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next. It is considered to be 2.1 children per woman.
- If the TFR of a population goes down below 2.1- it indicates that a generation is not producing enough children to replace itself. Thus, indicative of reduction in population in general and depletion of working age population in particular.
Major Highlights of the SRS Report:
- Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in India has remained constant at 2.0 in 2021, same as the year 2020.
- India has witnessed a steadily declining TFR from 6.18 in 1950 to 4.60 in 1980 to 2.0 in 2021.
- Bihar has reported the highest TFR at 3.0, while Delhi and West Bengal reported the lowest TFR of 1.4.
- Gradual decline in the share of population in the age group of 0-14 from 41.2% in 1971 to 24.8% in 2021.
- The proportion of the economically active population between 15-59 years has increased from 53.4% to 66.2% during the same period (1971-2021).
- Elderly population has gone up to 5.9% for the 65+ age group and to 9% for the 60+ age group during the same period (1971-2021). Kerala recorded the highest percentage of population in the age group of 60.
- Mean age at effective marriage for females has increased from 19.3 years in 1990 to 22.5 years in 2021.
Key Facts:
- As the Census is usually counted every 10 years, the Sample Registration System (SRS) Report is the largest demographic survey in the country mandated to provide annual estimates of fertility and mortality indicators at the State and national level.