Fertility In Rural India Is At Its Lowest, What Does This Mean For The Future?

ETV Bharat / health

Fertility In Rural India Is At Its Lowest, What Does This Mean For The Future?

India’s fertility rate has fallen below replacement level for the first time, with rural India driving the change. What does this shift mean?

India's total fertility rate (TFR) has dipped to 1.9 children per woman, falling below the replacement level of 2.1 for the very first time [according to a report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)]. This would be remarkable in the bustling cities, where shrinking families are old news. But the true story lies in our villages. Rural India, the very heart of our nation, has also reached this threshold.

The change has been dramatic. In 1971, the average woman bore 5.2 children. By 2023, this number had plummeted to 1.9. Likewise, o