A looming crisis? Sex ratio, fertility rate in Telangana hit historic lows

Total Fertility Rates in the State have witnessed a downward spiral and the drop has been consistent throughout the country between 1986 and 2021, SRS data indicates

Hyderabad: Sex ratio and total fertility rate – critical demographic indicators that provide insights into health, well-being and future trajectory of a population – are not in a healthy state in Telangana.

The sex ratio, which is the number of females for 1,000 males, and Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which indicates average number of children expected to be born per woman during her span of reproductive period, in Telangana, have been declining sharply since 1986, based on the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) 2021, released by the Centre last month.

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The overall sex ratio, including urban and rural regions of Telangana is 902, meaning 902 females for 1,000 males. This is the lowest sex ratio among all southern States. Kerala has the best overall sex ratio in the country at 962, Karnataka has a sex ratio of 928, Tamil Nadu has 920 and Andhra Pradesh has sex ratio of 932.

In an indication of non-preference to the girl child among families in urban areas, Telangana has a sex ratio of 896 as against Kerala’s 962, Tamil Nadu’s 934, Andhra Pradesh’s 941 and Karnataka’s 908. The overall sex ratio of the country is 913 while Telangana’s overall sex ratio (including urban and rural) is 902.

The Total Fertility Rates (TFRs) in Telangana too have witnessed a downward spiral and the drop has been consistent throughout the country between 1986 and 2021, the SRS data indicates.

In 1986, India had a TFR of 4.2 which had dropped to 2 in 2021. In urban areas, the TFR for the country was 3.1 in 1986, which dropped to 1.6 and it was 4.5 in rural areas, which dropped to 2.2 by 2021, according to the data.

As of 2021, the Total Fertility Rate (including urban and rural) of Telangana and Karnataka is 1.6, while for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, it is 1.5.