News promoting women empowerment has come to the fore. In fact, for the first time in the country, the population of women has increased in comparison to men. There are now 1,020 females for every 1,000 males. For the first time since independence, the population of females has crossed 1,000 as compared to males. This figure has been found in the National Family Health Survey-5. Earlier in 2015-16, this figure was 991 females per 1,000 males in NFHS-4. Not only this, the sex ratio at birth has also improved. In the year 2015-16, the number of girls per 1000 children was 919 which has increased to 929 per 1000 children by 2021.
According to the report of NFHS-5, the improvement in sex ratio is more visible in villages than in cities. The number of females per 1,000 males in villages is 1,037 while in cities there are 985 females. Similar situation was also seen in NFHS-4. As per the survey, there were 1,009 females per 1,000 males in villages and 956 females in cities.
Significantly, in the year 1901, the sex ratio was 972 females per 1000 males, but after independence this number started decreasing. In 1951, this figure fell to 946 females per thousand males. In 1971 it further fell to 930. As of the 2011 Census, that figure improved slightly, with the female population reaching 940 per 1,000 males.
According to the NFHS-5 survey, the fertility rate of the country has also declined. Fertility rate refers to the growth rate of the population. According to the survey, the fertility rate in the country has come down to 2. In 2015-16 it was 2.2.