Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2022

The report shares some population indicators, starting with the share of specific age groups in the total population. The share of the age-group 0-14 years was 24.7 per cent; of 15-59 (the economically active population) was 66.3 per cent, and above 60 years was nine per cent in 2022. The share of the age group 15-59 had grown from 57.7 per cent to 66.3 per cent from 1991 to 2022, while that of 0-14 years had declined from 36.3 to 24.7 percent. The share of persons above 60 years of age had been stable at nine per cent. 

Urban areas contained a larger share of the 15-59 age group than rural areas (69.2 per cent of the total population over 64.9 per cent). The share of the female population in this age group was slightly higher than the share of the male population in urban areas particularly, with urban Assam having the highest female population in this category at 73 per cent. The share of females in the age group 0-14 was less than the share of males by one or two points in urban and rural areas, and in India overall, while the share of females above 60 exceeded that of males above 60 in all areas.

The report notes that 45.5 per cent of India’s population had been married as of 2022, with the share of the married female population (49 per cent) exceeding that of the married male population (42.2 per cent). The highest percent of those married was in Kerala with 51.6 per cent, with more females married than males by about 8 points. The lowest was in Jammu and Kashmir (39.5 per cent).

The percentage of married females over age 10 was almost the same in both rural and urban areas (58 and 58.2 respectively), while married females over age 15 differed slightly (64.6 and 65.1 respectively). The percentage of females getting married before 18 years was 2.3 per cent in all of India. The highest was in urban West Bengal (8.3 per cent) and the lowest in rural Delhi (zero per cent). The percentage of females married between the ages 18-21 and 21-and-above was 27 per cent and 70.6 per cent respectively. 

The mean age of effective marriage for females in India in 2022 was 22.7 years. It was 22.2 years in rural areas and 23.9 years in urban areas for females aged above 21 (while being relatively same for the other two age groups: 16.7 years for females below 18 years and 19.2 and 19.3 years respectively for the 19-21 age group). It was highest in rural Jammu and Kashmir (25.5 years) and in urban Punjab (25.1 years) and lowest in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

The report additionally discusses some fertility indicators. Crude birth rate (CBR) calculates the percentage of annual live births over the half-yearly population of a region. It was estimated to be 19.1 in 2022 for the totality of India, a decline from 29.5 in 1991 and 21.8 per in 2011. Rural CBR was higher than urban CBR (20.8 over 15.5 respectively). 

The age-specific fertility rate (ASFR) is the number of children born per thousand women in the age group of 15-49 years. The ASFR was the highest for the 25-29 years age group (142.1), followed by the 20-24 years age group (112.4). There was a significant increase in the ASFR for women in rural areas over those in urban areas, but this difference decreased as the age groups increased. The highest was in the state of Bihar (213.1) while the lowest was in West Bengal (83.3). 

The adolescent birth rate (ASFR for the age-group 15-19) was 11.1 for the entire country. Considering all this, the general fertility rate (GFR), or the number of live births per thousand women in the entire reproductive age of 15-49, was 66. Rural areas had a higher GFR (73.1) compared to urban areas (52.4). The mean age of fertility was 28.3 years in 2022.

The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of children a female is expected to have over her lifetime. The TFR for 2022 was 2.0, a decline from 3.6 in 1991 and 2.4 in 2010. It was 2.2 in rural areas and 1.6 in urban areas. When considered for married women, the total marital fertility rate (TMFR) was 5.0 children expected to be born per married woman. The same for married women within particular age groups (age specific marital fertility rate) was highest with 329.7 births per thousand women for the age group 20-24. The highest TMFR and ASMFR were for Uttar Pradesh and Assam respectively. 

Based on levels of education, the number of children women bore varied across age and regions. The general fertility rate (GFR) for literate women across India was 66.9, while for illiterate women it was 57.4. It was the highest in Bihar and lowest in Tamil Nadu.

Around 64 per cent of live births were first-order births. The highest was 84.9 per cent of births in Telangana and the lowest was 50 per cent in Kerala. The most likely interval between second-order-and-higher live births was after 36 months of the first-order live birth.

The sex ratio (number of females per thousand males) over 2021-22 was 914. The highest was in the states of Kerala and Chhattisgarh (970 per 1,000) and the lowest was in Uttarakhand (857 per 1,000). The sex ratio went up by a single point from 913 in 2020-2021 

The report also covers certain mortality indicators. Crude death rate (CDR) is the number of deaths per 1,000 people. It was reported as 6.8 in India in 2022. The CDR was higher in rural areas (7.2) than in urban areas (6). It was the highest in Chhattisgarh (9) and lowest in Delhi (4.6). 

The infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of infant (children less than a year old) deaths per thousand live infants. The IMR for India in 2022 was 26. It did not vary significantly between males and females (27 and 26 in India respectively). However, the IMR for rural areas was greater than for urban areas. In the bigger states and UTs, Kerala had the lowest IMR (7) while Madhya Pradesh had the highest (40). As for smaller states and UTs, Manipur had the lowest IMR (3). IMR had declined from 44.5 in 2010-12 to 27.7 in 2022. The highest decline was observed in Jammu and Kashmir (including Ladakh) (62.4 per cent) and the lowest in Chhattisgarh (21.8 per cent) 

The neo-natal (babies less than 29 days old) mortality rate was 19 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, and the early neo-natal mortality rate was 14 deaths per 1,000 live births. Both formed 72.4 and 51.7 per cent of the total infant deaths respectively. Both were higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had the highest percentage of both respectively, while Kerala had the lowest. 

The under-five mortality rate (U5MR) indicates the probability of a child under the age of five dying per thousand live births. The U5MR of India was 30 in 2022, expressed as the number of deaths per 1,000 live births. It was higher in rural areas (34 deaths per 1,000 live births) compared to urban areas (20 deaths per 1,000 live births). It was highest in Madhya Pradesh and lowest in Kerala. Its counterpart, survival to age-five, was 0.97 in 2022. That is, there was a 97 per cent likelihood of a child surviving past the age of five years.

In 2022, 51.5 per cent of deceased persons received medical attention at the time of their death in either government or private hospitals or by a qualified professional. Around 48.5 per cent did not receive any medical attention or were attended to by an untrained functionary. This rate varied between different areas and states.

Focus and Factoids by N. Vaaruni.

PARI Library's health archive project is part of an initiative supported by the Azim Premji University to develop a free-access repository of health-related reports relevant to rural India.