India's total fertility rate drops below replacement level of 2.1%, reveals NFHS data

The latest National Family Health Survey released on Wednesday has shown that India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) had fallen to 2.0 from 2.2 reported in 2015-16. The data released by the Union Ministry of Family and Welfare stated that TFR in rural areas was 2.1 while in urban areas it stands at 1.6 only. The United States' Population Division has said that this figure is below replacement fertility of 2.1. 

This means that a generation is not producing enough children to replace itself, eventually leading to a complete reduction in population. The recent data which was the fifth in the survey series mentions an increase in the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) from 54% to 67%. 

State-wise survey result

According to the survey, there are five states with TFR above 2: Bihar (3), Meghalaya (2.9), Uttar Pradesh (2.4), Jharkhand (2.3) and Manipur (2.2). Phase 2 of the survey included Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The First Phase of the 2019-20 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) had also shown a decline in Total Fertility Rates (TFR) and the replacement level of fertility was achieved in 19 out of 22 states. Moreover, the use of modern methods of contraception had also increased in almost all States/UTs at that time.

What is National Family Health Survey?

NFHS provides information on population, health, and nutrition for India and each state/union territory (UT). It also provides district-level estimates for many important indicators. However, the latest survey which was the fifth of the series included some new topics, such as preschool education, disability, access to a toilet facility, death registration, bathing practices during menstruation, and methods and reasons for abortion. The scope of clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical testing (CAB) has also been expanded to include measurement of waist and hip circumferences, and the age range for the measurement of blood pressure and blood glucose has been expanded.