India's Total Fertility Rate Drops to 1.9 — SRS Statistical Report 2024
Summary
The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner released the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2024 on May 20, 2026, confirming India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined to 1.9 — below the replacement threshold of 2.1 for the second consecutive year.
●All states except Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have fallen below replacement level.
●The Crude Birth Rate stands at 18.3 per 1,000, the Infant Mortality Rate at 24 per 1,000 live births, and 95.4% of deliveries are now institutional.
●The north–south fertility divergence has sharpened, with Delhi at 1.2 and Bihar at 2.9.
Population & Urbanisation
Practise past questions on related topics in Arena.
India's TFR, as recorded in the SRS Statistical Report 2024 released by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs, stands at 1.9 — below the replacement level of 2.1 for the second consecutive year (2023 and 2024 both recorded 1.9). The report uses the Census 2011 sampling frame, covering approximately 8.9 million individuals across 8,839 sample units.
●Six states — Bihar (2.9), Uttar Pradesh (2.6), Madhya Pradesh (2.4), Rajasthan (2.3), Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand — remain above replacement level.
●Urban TFR (1.5) is significantly lower than rural TFR (2.1). Literate mothers record a TFR of 1.8 versus 3.2 for illiterate mothers.
●The Crude Birth Rate has declined from 21.0 in 2014 to 18.3 in 2024; IMR fell to 24 from 30 in 2019.
A sub-replacement TFR does not mean India's population will shrink immediately — population momentum from the current young cohort will sustain growth for several decades — but it signals the closing window of the demographic dividend, expected to last until roughly 2040–2045.
Factual Pointers
Practice · 2 questions
Consider the following statements about the SRS Statistical Report 2024:
1. India's Total Fertility Rate in 2024 is 1.9, which is below the replacement level of 2.1.
2. The report is published by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Census 2021 sampling frame.
3. Bihar recorded the highest Total Fertility Rate among all states at 2.9 in 2024.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements about India's demographic indicators as per SRS 2024:
1. Urban Total Fertility Rate (1.5) is lower than rural TFR (2.1).
2. India's Infant Mortality Rate has fallen to 24 per 1,000 live births.
3. Literate mothers in India have a higher TFR than illiterate mothers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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