Last week, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya released the report of the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS). This has shown that the pace of rapidly increasing population in India has slowed down. If we look at the data, where the fertility rate was 2.2 in NFHS-4 in 2015-2016, it has come down to 2.0 in NFHS-5.
A question that is also common regarding the rate of population growth is that the fertility rate of Muslims is higher. But the survey of National Family Health Survey-5 shows that there has been a sharp decline in the fertility rate of the Muslim community. According to the survey, where the fertility rate in the Muslim community was 4.4 in 1992-93, it was found to be 2.6 in 2015-16. Apart from this, it has been recorded at 2.3 in the latest 2019-21 survey.
Religion may be said to be the biggest reason for the fertility rate in the Muslim community, but the latest survey has shown that their education and economic reasons are more effective than religion behind the birth of more children. The survey found that women are producing fewer children when they are more educated.
on the basis of education | Birth Rate |
women who never went to school | 2.82 |
less than 5th | 2.3 |
5th to 7th | 2.21 |
8th to 9th | 2.12 |
10th to 11th | 1.88 |
above 12th | 1.78 |
Important role of education: If we look at the statistics on the basis of education, there is one in 4 Muslim women who have not gone to school. At the same time, there are 1 in 5 who have gone to school till 12. According to the data, the average fertility rate among women who do not go to school is 3.57, while the average rate of women going to school up to 12 is 1.97. In such a situation, it is clear that education has an important role in increasing the fertility rate. This kind of backwardness in the matter of education is not there among people of any other religion in India.
other reason: On the basis of social environment, the survey shows that the birth rate of Hindu women in Uttar Pradesh is 2.29 but the birth rate of Muslim women living in Tamil Nadu is 1.93. On this basis, it can be understood that the social environment also has an effect in terms of birth rate.
square | Fertility Rate in NFHS-1 | Fertility Rate in NFHS-2 | Fertility Rate in NFHS-3 | Fertility Rate in NFHS-4 | Fertility Rate in NFHS-5 |
Hindu | 3.3 | 2.78 | 2.59 | 2.13 | 1.94 |
Muslim | 4.41 | 3.59 | 3.4 | 2.62 | 2.36 |
Christian | 2.87 | 2.44 | 2.34 | 1.99 | 1.88 |
Sikh | 2.43 | 2.66 | 1.95 | 1.58 | 1.61 |
Buddhist | NA | 2.13 | 2.25 | 1.74 | 1.39 |
Jain | NA | 1.9 | 1.54 | 1.2 | 1.56 |
If we look at the fertility rate on the basis of religion, then according to the news published in the English daily Times of India, the total fertility rate of all communities except Muslims is now less than the current fertility rate average of 2 in the country. In this, the total fertility rate of only Muslim section is 2.36. Whereas the fertility rate of Hindu class is 1.94.
On the other hand, if we look at the fertility rate in Hinduism, it is 3.3 in Survey-1 in 1992-93, 2.78 in 1998-99 in Survey-2, 2.59 in 2005-06 in Survey-3, 2.13 in Survey-4 and the year 2019-21. In the fifth survey, it fell to 1.94.