India has more women than men for the first time in its recorded history and is no longer experiencing a population boom, according to a government survey that indicates significant societal shifts in the country.
The fifth National Family and Health Survey (NFHS) carried out by the government between 2019 and 2021 has found India now has 1,020 women for every 1,000 men.
The survey of about 650,000 households also found that India’s reproductive rate had dropped to an average of 2, which is the first time it has been below replacement fertility levels. In urban areas, it was even lower at 1.6.
This means that not enough children are being born to replace the older generation, suggesting that India’s population of close to 1.4 billion may be near its peak, and is a significant shift for a country where in the 1950s women had an average of six children.
