New Delhi: A significant rural-urban divide in the fertility rate could be seen in the country in the latest data that says the fertility rate varies from 53.7 in urban areas to 73.7 in rural areas while at the national level, 67 children were born every thousand women aged 15-49 years.
As per the data of the Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2020, the general fertility rate (GFR) varies from 45.3 in Kerala to 93.9 in Bihar among the bigger states/UTs.
The data reveals that fertility in all age groups is higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Fertility reaches the peak in the age group 25-29 and declines thereafter, irrespective of the place of residence.
Estimates of General Fertility Rate (GFR), a refined measure of fertility, has been defined as the number of live births per thousand women in the reproductive age group 15-49 years, is a useful tool for measuring fertility
At the all-India level, a decline of 20.2 percent in GFR has been registered during the decade and it varies from 20.2 percent in rural to 15.6 percent in urban areas. Among the bigger States/UTs, the percentage decline in GFR varies from 29.2 in Jammu & Kashmir to 12.3 in Kerala.
At the national level, there is a shift in the trend of fertility with an increase in fertility in the later ages 30-44, while a decrease in fertility in the lower age-groups 15-29.
Except for Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal where fertility reached its peak in the age group 20-24 and Jammu & Kashmir where fertility reached its peak in the age group 30-34, the highest fertility in all the other bigger States/UTs has been attained in the age group 25-29.
Fertility, however, declined from age 30 in all the bigger states/UTs, except Jammu & Kashmir where it declined from age 35.
The ASFR (Age Specific Fertility Rates) in the younger age group 15-19 varies from 2.6 in Delhi to 22.3 in West Bengal.
In the age group 30-34, the variation in the level of ASFR is from 41.9 in West Bengal to 147.0 in Bihar.
