Prelims: Current events of national and international importance
Why in news?
The Vital Statistics of India report for the year 2023 released recently, shows number of births declines; deaths rise slightly.
Compiled by –The Registrar General of India (RGI)
Sources for vital statistics –Include the Civil Registration System (CRS), Population Census, and surveys like the Sample Registration System (SRS).
Key statistics for 2023
Births – 2.52 crore were registered, a slight decrease from 2022.
Deaths –86.6 lakh were registered, a marginal increase from 2022.
Birth rate –The birth rate fell to 18.4 per 1,000 population, a significant drop from 19.7 in 2019 and 36.9 in 1971.
Registration coverage –
Birth registration –Overall, registration of birth reached 98.4% in 2023.
The share of institutional births in total registered births is 74.7 % in 2023.
However, the report did not include information from Sikkim.
More than 90% registration – Gujarat, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Punjab.
80-90% registration – Odisha, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
Death registration –The registration of death has reached 86.6%.
Sex ratio –The number of females born per 1,000 males.
Lowest –Jharkhand recorded the lowest sex ratio at birth at 899, followed by Bihar (900), Telangana (906), Maharashtra (909), Gujarat (910), Haryana (911) and Mizoram (911).
Since 2020, Bihar has been recording the lowest sex ratio.
Highest – Arunachal Pradesh recorded the highest sex ratio at 1,085, followed by Nagaland (1,007), Goa (973), Ladakh and Tripura (972), and Kerala (967).
Declining birth rate –The decrease is attributed to improved access to education and healthcare, family planning initiatives, increased female education and employment, and a reduction in early or repeated pregnancies.
Stable death rate –Unlike the significant spike in deaths in 2021, 2022 and 2023 did not show a major spike in overall registered deaths.
