New Delhi: As many as 19 million women in India have given birth to seven or more children, and 15 million (80 per cent) of them live in rural areas, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of recently released census data.
This is equivalent to Niger’s population, a country in Africa with a fertility rate of 6.76. The countries with the highest fertility rates in the world are mostly situated in Africa.
There were fewer such women with higher levels of education, the data further reveal -15 million of those women were illiterate as against 0.09 million who were graduates and above.
Educated women have fewer births, average births per woman declined since 2001
The average births per woman in India is 3.3, a decline of 13 per cent from 3.8 in 2001, based on the total births given by women in the 45-49 years age group (which marks the end of their child-bearing age), according to the World Health Organisation.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimates India’s average fertility per woman at 2.48 which is the highest among BRICS nations and just better than Pakistan in the subcontinent.
Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have lower fertility rates.
Though the CIA data differs from the census, trends indicate that Indian women have higher fertility rates than subcontinental countries and other similar economies.
The average births decline with increase in education levels, according to census data. The average births for women who are graduates and above is 1.9, against 3.8 for women who are illiterate.
