India’s fertility rate falls below replacement level. What it means.
India’s national Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has fallen below 2.0 for the first time, as per the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The findings covered 11 states and three union territories that were not included in the first set of data released in December 2020.
The latest set of findings of the NFHS 2019-21 survey released by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday revealed that the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime has dropped below the replacement level for the first time.
The national Total Fertility Rate was found to be 2.2 in the NFHS 2015-16 survey, down from 2.7 in the NFHS 2005-06 survey. The same has now declined to 2.1 in rural areas and 1.6 in urban areas, as per the latest NFHS survey.
What is Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes Total Fertility Rate (TFR) as the average number of children born to a woman “at the end of her reproductive period”.
As per the latest NFHS survey, five states in India with TFR higher than 2 are namely, Bihar (3), Meghalaya (2.9), Uttar Pradesh (2.4), Jharkhand (2.3) and Manipur (2.2).
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