First dip in Total Fertility Rate in 2 years: Sample Registration Survey Statistical Report

India’s Crude Birth Rate (CBR) declined from 19.1 in 2022 to 18.4 in 2023, according to the latest Sample Registration Survey (SRS) Statistical Report 2023 released by the Office of the Registrar General of India. Crude Birth Rate (CBR) is the number of children born per 1,000 people in the population in a year The country’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) also fell to 1.9 in 2023, down from 2.0 recorded in 2021 and 2022.

Regional Variations in Fertility

• Highest CBR: Bihar (25.8)
• Lowest CBR: Tamil Nadu (12)
• Highest TFR: Bihar (2.8)
• Lowest TFR: Delhi (1.2)

The report highlighted that 18 States and Union Territories have reported a TFR below the replacement level of 2.1, indicating a demographic transition towards lower fertility.

Northern States Above Replacement Level

Replacement level TFR denotes the average number of children each woman needs to give birth for one generation to replace the other. All States with TFR above replacement level are concentrated in northern India:

• Bihar (2.8)
• Uttar Pradesh (2.6)
• Madhya Pradesh (2.4)
• Rajasthan (2.3)
• Chhattisgarh (2.2)

States with Lowest Fertility

The TFR data denotes the average number of children expected to be born per woman during her entire span of reproductive period, Several States and UTs reported fertility well below replacement level:

• Delhi (1.2)
• West Bengal (1.3)
• Tamil Nadu (1.3)
• Maharashtra (1.4)
• Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab (1.5 each)

Mortality and Infant Health

The Crude Death Rate (CDR) in India was 6.4 in 2023, a decline of 0.4 points from 2022.

• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) stood at 25 in 2023, down by 7 points over the last five years.
• The report noted that one in every 40 infants dies within the first year of life.

Sex Ratio at Birth Shows Improvement

The sex ratio at birth (SRB) rose by 3 points between 2020–2022 and 2021–2023, standing at 917 girls per 1,000 boys in 2023.

• Highest SRB: Chhattisgarh (974) and Kerala (971)
• Lowest SRB: Uttarakhand (868)

Rising Elderly Population

The proportion of elderly (aged 60 and above) in India increased by 0.7 percentage points in a year, reaching 9.7% of the total population in 2023.

• Highest elderly share: Kerala (15%)
• Lowest elderly share: Assam (7.6%), Delhi (7.7%), Jharkhand (7.6%)

(Source: TH)