Rural fertility rate drops to 2.1: Govt

NEW GOVERNMENT DATA RELEASED ON WEDNESDAY SHOWED THAT THE OVERALL TOTAL FERTILITY RATE IN COUNTRY HAS NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, SLIPPED BELOW 2 TO 1.9

- AbhishekJha

The total fertility rate (TFR) in rural India has dropped to the critical level of 2.1 children per woman for the first time — the demographic threshold at which births just balance deaths to maintain stable population levels — according to new government data released on Wednesday, which also showed that the overall TFR in the country has now, for the first time, slipped below 2 to 1.9.

The 2023 Sample Registration System (SRS) report on Wednesday also showed that the country's death rate continues to be above levels seen right before the pandemic.

The TFR decline marks a milestone where a decades-long fertility decline has now brought rural India in line with global demographic trends. If TFR holds at this value — known as the replacement level — rural populations will eventually stabilise rather than grow.

Rural TFR had remained stagnant at 2.2 from 2020 to 2022 before dropping to the replacement threshold in 2023.