National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-20 Union Territory Fact Sheet: Andaman & Nicobar Islands

As many as 97.6 per cent of the population surveyed in Andaman and Nicobar Islands lived in households with access to electricity. The percentage was higher in urban areas (99.5 per cent) than in rural areas (96.5 per cent).

The percentage of households using clean fuel – electricity, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas or biogas – for cooking was recorded at 79.8 per cent. This was an increase from the NFHS-4 figures of 63.5 per cent.

In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 96.3 per cent of the population lived in households with an improved source of drinking water – 95.3 per cent in rural areas and 98 per cent in urban areas. Improved sanitation facilities were used by 88 per cent of the population, up from 75.4 per cent reported in NFHS-4.

Around 52 per cent of men and women (aged 15-49 years) in the union territory had completed 10 or more years of school education. Additionally, 80.5 per cent of women and 88.2 per cent of men in the same age group were reported to be literate. Respondents were considered literate if they had finished education till Class 9 and higher or if they were able to read a complete sentence or a part of it.

Among women between the ages of 20-24 years, 16.2 per cent were married before reaching the legal minimum age of 18 years. This was only a slight decrease from the NFHS-4 estimates of 16.4 per cent.

The total fertility rate in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was recorded as 1.3 children per woman – 1.4 in urban areas and 1.2 in rural areas.

The percentage of married women (aged 15-49 years) using family planning methods increased from 50.8 per cent in NFHS-4 to 65.8 per cent in NFHS-5. The use of modern methods of family planning (sterilisation, intrauterine devices, contraceptive pills, injectables or condoms) also rose from 48.3 per cent in NFHS-4 to 57.7 per cent in NFHS-5.

The average out-of-pocket expenditure per delivery at a public health facility in the union territory more than doubled from Rs. 1,278 recorded in NFHS-4 to Rs. 2,924. The figure was considerably larger in urban areas (Rs. 4,230) compared to rural areas (Rs. 2,089).

About 77.8 per cent children (aged 12-23 months) were fully vaccinated against major illnesses like tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio and measles. This was a rise from NFHS-4 numbers of 73.2 per cent.

Almost all (99 per cent) births in Andaman and Nicobar Islands that happened in the five years prior to the survey were institutional births. Around 87.3 per cent of such institutional births took place at a public facility.

Among children under five years of age, 22.5 per cent were stunted (too short for their age) and 16 per cent were wasted (too thin for their height). The prevalence of stunting and wasting was much higher in rural areas compared to urban areas.

Only 14.9 per cent of women and 34.7 per cent of men (aged 15-49 years) in the union territory had ‘comprehensive’ knowledge of HIV/AIDS. The percentage of people who were aware that regular use of condoms could reduce the chances of getting HIV/AIDS was higher – 76.3 per cent among women and 64.3 per cent among men.

As per the report, 98.9 per cent of women between the ages of 15-24 years used hygienic methods of menstrual protection like sanitary napkins, tampons or menstrual cups.

In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 89.2 per cent of women (aged 15-49 years) had a bank or savings account that they used themselves.

Around 17.2 per cent of women (aged 18-49 years) who had ever been married reported having experienced spousal violence, a slight decrease from NFHS-4 figures of 18.4 per cent. Further, 1.8 per cent of the women surveyed also reported that they had experienced sexual violence by the age of 18 years.

Focus and Factoids by Devanshi Parekh.

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.