Haryana sex ratio at birth in 2024 slips to 910 girls/1,000 boys - worst in 8 yrs

Haryana recorded its lowest sex ratio at birth in eight years in 2024 and registered a six-point drop from figures a year ago, data showed on Friday—a troubling statistic that highlighted dogged social biases may be hurting the government's mission to stop female foeticide.

- Pawan Sharma

Data from the Civil Registration System (CRS) up to December 2024 showed that the sex ratio at birth, a critical indicator of gender equality, had dipped to 910 female births per 1,000 male births in 2024, a six-point drop from 916 in 2023 and the lowest after 2016, when it stood at 900.

According to a Union government reply in Parliament, India's average sex ratio at birth was 933 in 2022-23. According to the 2011 census, the figure at birth stood at 943. According to the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey between 2019 and 2021, the number stood at 929.

Haryana has consistently recorded the lowest sex ratio in India, the unfortunate consequence of a mix of social hostility towards girl children and lax implementation of laws banning female infanticide.

HT reached out to Haryana director general of health services, Dr Manish Bansal, who did not immediately respond to queries seeking comments.

Experts associated with the government's "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao" programme said that the latest dip in 2024 was alarming as Haryana showed notable improvements after the launch of the campaign in 2015.

For instance, sex ratio at birth was 832 in 2012, 868 in 2013 and 871 in 2014. It rose to 876 in 2015, 900 in 2016 and was stagnant at 914 in 2017, 2018 and 2021. The highest sex ratio at birth, 923, was recorded in 2019, followed by 922 in 2020. It dropped to 917 in 2022 and 916 in 2023.