Previous Year Question
What is the current Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of India according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) (2015-16)?
2.2
2.4
3.2
3.4
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
According to NFHS-4 (2015-16), India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) was 2.2 children per woman.
Total Fertility Rate refers to the average number of children a woman would bear during her entire reproductive period if the prevailing Age-Specific Fertility Rates (ASFRs) remained unchanged throughout her reproductive life.
Thus, TFR does not represent the total number of children born in a particular year; rather, it is a per-woman summary measure of fertility. This makes TFR a more targeted indicator for fertility comparisons than the Crude Birth Rate.
The replacement level of fertility is generally around 2.1. Broadly, it represents the fertility level at which one generation replaces itself with the next, subject to mortality and other demographic conditions.
India's NFHS-4 TFR of 2.2 was therefore very close to, but slightly above, the replacement level.
Current Status
In the subsequent NFHS-5 (2019-21), India's TFR declined to 2.0. Thus, on the NFHS measure, India moved below replacement-level fertility at the national level.
The SRS 2022 also recorded India's TFR at 2.0, with a rural TFR of 2.2 and an urban TFR of 1.6, showing a clear rural-urban fertility differential.
NFHS-4 (2015-16) → TFR 2.2
NFHS-5 (2019-21) → TFR 2.0
SRS 2022 → TFR 2.0