Previous Year Question
What should be Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of a population in order to reach at the replacement level of fertility?
1.0
1.6
2.1
2.3
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) refers to the average number of children a woman would bear over her entire reproductive period if the prevailing Age-Specific Fertility Rates continued throughout her reproductive life.
Replacement Level Fertility is the fertility level at which one generation approximately replaces itself with the next generation in the long run. In the Indian context, it is generally taken as TFR 2.1 children per woman.
The figure is approximately 2.1 rather than exactly 2.0 because not every girl survives to reproductive age and not every woman completes the reproductive period. Therefore, slightly more than two births per woman are required on average for generational replacement.
It is important not to confuse Replacement Level Fertility with Population Stabilization. Even after TFR reaches 2.1, the total population may continue to grow for some time because of Population Momentum, particularly when a large population cohort is entering reproductive age.