Understanding Fertility Rates in India

Source: This post on Understanding Fertility Rates in India has been created based on the article “Number of children has more to do with development than religion” published in “The Hindu” on 13 May 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-1– Society-Population and Associated Issues

News– In April 2023, data revealed that the fertility rate for Muslims was 2.36 from 2019 to 2021, nearing the replacement level of 2.1. This indicates population stability. However, the Economic Advisory Council noted recently that between 1950 and 2015, the Muslim population share rose by 43.15%, while the Hindu share decreased by 7.82%. Understanding Fertility Rates in India

What are the factors that Influence fertility rates in India?

It is influenced more by socio-economic parameters rather than religion. For ex-

Source – The Hindu

1) Regional Variations-The fertility rate of Muslim women varies significantly across regions. For ex- it was 3.6 in Bihar but only 2.0 in Maharashtra. This variation in fertility levels among Muslim women across regions is linked to the level of development, both economic and social, in a state.

2) Early Marriage and Literacy-

A) Chart 1 reveals a clear link: in states where more women aged 20-24 marry before adulthood, Muslim fertility rates tend to be higher.

B) Chart 2 indicates that in states with more literate women, Muslim fertility rates are lower, suggesting a negative connection between the two.

Read more- Falling Fertility Rate in India – Blessing in disguise for India

3) Awareness of Family Planning– Many Muslim women lack awareness about family planning. In 2019-21, around 30% of Muslim women and 25 % Muslim women had never encountered any family planning messages through media or newspaper etc. (Chart 3).

4) Unmet Demand for Family Planning- Even women who wanted to control the number and spacing of their children, could not do so because they didn’t have access to family planning methods.

NOTE– Unmet demand refers to the share of women who want to limit or space out children, but are unable to do so.

Chart 4 shows unmet family planning needs among Hindu and Muslim women in select states from 2019 to 2021. In several states, Muslim women had a greater unmet need than Hindu women. In high-fertility states like Haryana, Bihar, and Jharkhand, the gap between Muslim and Hindu women widened further

What should be the way forward?

1) There should be more emphasis on increasing awareness about contraceptive measures and enhancing access to them by the government.

2) The government should also focus on educating children and child marriages to reduce the fertility rates among all religious groups at a much faster rate.

Question for practice

How does socio-economic parameters influence fertility rates in India?