Women & Men in India 2022 (A statistical compilation of Gender related Indicators in India)

India’s population is projected to reach 152.2 crore during 2036 with 48.8 per cent female population – in 2011, the share of female population in India is 48.5 per cent of the total population.

As per the Population Projections for India and States, 2011-2036 published by the National Commission on Population, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the population in the working age (15-59 years) in the country is estimated to grow at a steady rate and reach 988.5 million people by 2036.

Sex ratio for women shows a positive projected trend, with rural areas projecting a rise from 949 females to 969 females (per 1,000 males) by the year 2036. Urban areas however project a decline in female sex ratio from 929 females to 926 females (per 1,000 males) by 2036.

Age-specific fertility rate (ASFR) has been defined as the number of live births in a specific age group of women per thousand female populations of that age group. For the age-group 20-24 years and 25-29 years, the ASFR has reduced from 135.4 and 166.0 in 2016 to 113.6 and 139.6 in 2020 respectively.

There has also been a slight increase in the mean age of marriage from 22.1 years in 2017 to 22.7 years in 2020.

Infant mortality rate (IMR) has been defined as the number of deaths under one year of age per 1,000 live births in a given year. Kerala has the lowest IMR in the country at six infants per 1000 live births, while Madhya Pradesh has the highest IMR 0f 43 infants per 1000 live births.

According to National Sample Surveys (2017-2018), gender gap in literacy between males and females aged seven years and above was lowest in Kerala at 2.2 and highest in Rajasthan at 23.2. Gender gap across the country stood at 14.4.

According to data from the Ministry of Education, Government of India, rate of female enrolment to primary education has increased to 100 in 2021-2022 from 97.1 in 2016-2017 per 100 boys. Gender Parity Index (GPI is defined as Ratio of GER of girls to GER of boys) at the national level stood at 1.03 in primary education in 2021-22.

As part of its celebration of 75 years of independence from colonial rule, “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” recognised the importance of ‘Empowered women – empowered nation’. The need for a more participative and gender balanced workforce was identified. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey published by the NSO, percentage of Labour Force Participation Rate (defined as the percentage of persons in the labour force in the population) for all ages stood at 54.9 for men and 18.2 for women in rural areas in 2017-18. In urban areas it was 57.0 for men and 15.9 for women in the same time period. In 2021-22, participation increased to 56.9 for men and 27.2 for women in rural areas. In case of urban areas, the numbers rose to 58.3 for men and 18. 8 for females for the same time period.

The report attributes the lacklustre performance in terms of female participation in the workforce to factors like gender discrimination in wages, lack of opportunities and educational qualifications.

According to the Time Use Survey 2019, 81.2 percent women participate in unpaid domestic service for household members as opposed to 26.1 men in both urban and rural areas.

‘Cruelty by husband and relatives’, ‘assault on women with the intent to outrage her modesty’ and ‘kidnapping and abduction’ were major crimes committed against women as per the data provided for 2016-2021 by National Crime Records Bureau. Cases registered under cruelty by husband and relatives fell from 33 per cent in 2016 to 32 per cent of the major crimes against women in 2021.

Focus and Factoids by Gauri Sarang.

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.