Sex ratio in India expected to improve to 952 women per 1,000 men by 2036: Govt study

New Delhi: Sex ratio in India is expected to improve to 952 women per 1000 men by 2036 from 943 in 2011, according to a report ‘Women and Men in India 2023’ released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday.

The report highlights that India’s population in 2036 is expected to be more feminine compared to the 2011 population, as reflected in the sex ratio which is projected to increase from 943 in 2011 to 952 by 2036, highlighting a positive trend in gender equality.

By 2036, the population of India is expected to reach 152.2 crore, with a slightly improved female percentage of 48.8 per cent compared to 48.5 per cent in 2011, the report stated.

The proportion of individuals under 15 years is projected to decrease from 2011 to 2036, likely due to declining fertility, it stated.

Conversely, the proportion of the population aged 60 years and above is anticipated to substantially increase during this period.

It is evident that from 2016 to 2020, Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR) in the age group of 20-24 and 25-29 has reduced from 135.4 and 166.0 to 113.6 and 139.6 respectively.

The ASFR for the age 35-39 for the above period has increased from 32.7 to 35.6 which shows that after settling in the life, women are thinking of expansion of family.

Adolescent Fertility Rate was 33.9 for the illiterate population whereas 11.0 for the literate in 2020.

This rate is considerably lower for even those who are literate but without any formal education (20.0) compared to illiterate women reemphasizing the importance of imparting education to women.

Age-Specific Fertility Rate is defined as the number of live births in a specific age group of women per thousand female populations of that age group.

Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is one of the SDG indicators and to bring it down to 70 by 2030 is explicitly laid down in SDG framework, it stated.

Owing to ceaseless efforts by the Government, India has successfully achieved the major milestone of bringing down its MMR (97/lakh live births in 2018-20), well in time and it should be possible to achieve the SDG target as well.

Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) refers to the number of women who die as a result of complications of pregnancy or childbearing in a given year per 100,000 live births in that year.

Infant Mortality Rate has been decreasing over the years for both males and females. Female IMR had always been higher than that of male but in 2020, both were equal at the level of 28 infants per 1000 live births.

The Under 5 mortality rate data shows that it has decreased from 43 in 2015 to 32 in 2020. So is the case for both boys and girls and the gap between boys and girls has also reduced.