Indian Census of Population 2021

In February 2021, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated ₹37.69 billion (US$500 million) for the census in the 2021 Union budget of India. It has been delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India with preliminary results expected in 2023–24.

The recent population of India in the year of 2012 is 1.22 billion or 1,220,200,000 if viewed in numerical terms. India is the second among the most populous nations of the world and is just under China which has a population of 1.35 billion people or 1,350,044,605. This is quite an increase from the population which India had in 2001 which was 1.02 billion. From the gender distribution of population it is observed that males constitute 628.8 million of the population of India whereas their female counterparts consist of 591.4 million.

From the age distribution of Indian population, it is observed that 50% of the population of India consists of people within the age of 25 years and 65% consists of people below the age of 35 years. It has also been noted that India consists 17.31% of the population of the world. This stands for the fact that out of six people of this world one lives in India. Statistics also reveal that by the year of 2030 India would become the most populous country of the world leaving China behind. One of the primary causes of the steep increase in India’s population is illiteracy. Poverty also plays a role in unbridled growth of population.

History of Census in India

While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881. Post 1949, it has been conducted by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

The Census of 1881 which was undertaken on 17th February, 1881 by W.C. Plowden, Census Commissioner of India was a great step towards a modern synchronous census. Since then, censuses have been undertaken uninterruptedly once every ten years.

States with highest population in descending order

States with highest growth rates in descending order

Big States with highest decadal population growth rate in descending order

Population Density

As a result of the gradual increase in the population of India with the passing of each day, the population density of India per square km is also quickly on the rise. A survey of the Indian population density 2011 shows quite a considerable rise in the figures of population density in India. The records of population density 2011 of India state that the density 2011 has increased from a figure of 324 to that of 382 per square kilometre, which is considerably higher than the average population density of the world 2011, which are 46 per square kilometre. Records reveal that along with the wide difference with the population density of the world, there are also a lot of differences in the population density of the various states of India.

While the National Capital Region area of Delhi possesses the highest of the population density 2011 among the states of India having a statistics of 11,297 per square kilometre, the state of Arunachal Pradesh has the lowest record of population density having just 17 per square kilometre. It is very obvious that a higher density of population of a region would essentially mean that it is an urban area with high buildings and other modern aspects, while the low density of population of region would mean that it is a rural area with a probability there might be lack of modern amenities in the region.

UTs with highest population density in descending order

States with highest population density in descending order

Literacy

Literacy in India is a key for social-economic progress. The 15th official census in India was calculated in the year 2011. In a country like India, literacy is the main foundation for social and economic growth. When the British rule ended in India in the year 1947 the literacy rate was just 12%. Over the years, India has changed socially, economically, and globally. The results of 2011 census reveal that there has been an increase in literacy in the country. However, it is still low as compared to advanced nations.

Definition of Literacy

For the purpose of census 2011, a person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with understanding in any language, is treated as literate. A person, who can only read but cannot write, is not literate. In the censuses prior to 1991, children below five years of age were necessarily treated as illiterates.

• Crude Literacy Rate= (Number of Literate Persons divided by Total Population) x 100
• Effective Literacy Rate= (Number of literate people above the age of 7 and above divided by population aged and above) x 100

The literacy rate is low in India because its population is high and one third of it is under the poverty line while its primary, secondary and tertiary level education infrastructure and number of schools, colleges and universities are inadequate.. It is the 7^th largest country in the world in terms of area, but its population is the second largest in the world after China. Another reason for low literacy rate in India is lack of awareness about legal provision for free education of children as well as importance of education.

According to the 2011 census the literacy rate in the country is 74.04 per cent, 82.14 for males and 65.46 for females. Kerala retained its position by being on top with a 93.91 per cent literacy rate, closely followed by Lakshadweep (92.28 per cent) and Mizoram (91.58 per cent).

Bihar with a literacy rate of 63.82 per cent ranks last in the country preceded by Arunachal Pradesh (66.95 per cent) and Rajasthan (67.06 per cent).

Literacy rate in urban areas was higher at 82.14% as against 65.46 in rural areas as per the census 2011.

87.7% than rural areas with 73.5%. There is a wide gender disparity in the literacy rate in India and effective literacy rates (age 7 and above) was 84.7% for men and 70.3% for women.

It has been observed in population studies that the low female literacy rate has a dramatically negative impact on family planning and population stabillisation efforts in India. Studies have indicated that female literacy is a strong predictor of the use of contraception among married Indian couples, even when women do not otherwise have economic independence. The census provided a positive indication that growth in female literacy rates (11.8%) was substantially faster than in male literacy rates (6.9%) in the 2001–2011 decadal period, which means the gender gap appears to be narrowing.

State-wise literacy rate in India in descending order

Sex Ratio

Sex ratio is a valuable source for finding the population of women in India and what is the ratio of women to that of men in India.

Definition of Sex Ratio– Sex ratio is defined number of females per 1000 male. India’s sex ratio according to Census 2011 was 943 females per 1000 males which was 933 in 2001 census.

Child Sex Ratio

• Child sex ratio in India in the Census 2011 was 919 which was less than 927 in 2001 censu.
• Mizoram had the highest child sex ratio in India at 970, followed by Chhatisgarh (969),  Pudducherry (967) Kerala (964) and Bihar (935).
• The lowest child sex ratio in India was recorded lowest in Punjab (846), Rajasthan (888), Gujarat (890) and Uttar Pradesh (902)

High Sex Ratio States/UTs

Sex Ratio States and UTs

Bottom Sex Ratio States/UTs

• The big states having higher than average national sex ratio are: Tamil Nadu (996), Andhra Pradesh (993), Chhatisgarh (991), Odisha (979), Karnataka (973), (Assam 958), West Bengal (950) and Jharkhand (948).
• The states having lower than national average sex ratio are Madhya Pradesh (931), Maharashtra (929), Rajasthan (928), Gujarat (919), Bihar (918), Uttar Pradesh (912) and Punjab (895).
• Among the North Eastern Seven Sisters (states), higher than national average sex ratio states included Meghalaya (989), Manipur (985), Mizoram (976), Tripura (960) and Assam (958).
• In North East two states had lower than average national sex ratio. They are Arunachal Pradesh (938) and Nagaland (931).

Maternal Maternity Ratio

One of the key indicators of maternal mortality is the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) which is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period.

Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in Indian States (2016-18)

Infant Mortality Ratio

The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of children under one year of age per 1,000 live births. This rate is an important key indicator for health and standard of living; a low infant mortality rate indicates a high standard of healthcare.

Highest MMR states (2017)

Lowest MMR states/UTs (2017)

Fertility Rate: NFHS

The Government conducts periodic surveys viz. the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) and the Sample Registration System (SRS) to study the impact of various awareness programmes being conducted. The key findings of the surveys are as follows:

• The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined from 2.9 in 2005 to 2.2 in 2017 (SRS).
• The Wanted Fertility Rate has declined from 1.9 in NFHS III to 1.8 in NFHS IV.
• The Crude Birth Rate (CBR) has declined from 23.8 to 20.2 from 2005 to 2017 (SRS).
• The Teenage Birth Rate has halved from 16% (NFHS III)  to 8% (NFHS IV).
• 5 percent currently married men and women have knowledge about any modern method of contraception (NFHS IV).

Details of Schemes to reduce population growth:

1. Mission Parivar Vikas- The Government has launched Mission Parivar Vikas on 10^th November 2016 for substantially increasing access to contraceptives and family planning services in146 high fertility districts with Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 3 and above in seven high focus states. These districts are from the states of Uttar Pradesh (57), Bihar (37), Rajasthan (14), Madhya Pradesh (25), Chhattisgarh (2), Jharkhand (9) and Assam (2) that itself constitutes 44% of the country’s population.
2. New Contraceptive Choices- New contraceptives viz. Injectable contraceptive (Antara program) and Centchroman (Chhaya) have been added to the existing basket of choices in 2015-16.
3. A new method of IUCD insertion immediately after delivery i.e. post-partum IUCD (PPIUCD) has been introduced in 2010. PPIUCD incentive scheme has been operational w.e.f 01.01.2014.
4. Dedicated RMNCH+A counselors have been appointedin facilities since 2013.
5. Clinical Outreach Teams (COT) Scheme – The scheme has been launched in 146 Mission Parivar Vikas districts w.e.f December 2017 for providing family planning services through mobile teams from accredited organizations in far-flung, underserved and geographically difficult areas.
6. Scheme for Home delivery of contraceptives by ASHAs at doorstep of beneficiaries launched in August 2011.
7. Scheme for ASHAs to Ensure spacing in births launched on 16^th May 2012-The scheme is being implemented in 18 states of the country (8 EAG, 8 North East, Gujarat and Haryana). Additionally the spacing component has been approved in West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Daman Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
8. Scheme for provision of Pregnancy Testing Kits in the drug kits of ASHAs for use in communities. The Scheme was introduced in 2013.
9. Compensation scheme for sterilization acceptors – Under the scheme MoHFW provides compensation for loss of wages to the beneficiary and also to the service provider (& team) for conducting sterilizations. The package was enhanced in November 2014 for 11 high focus high TFR states (8 EAG, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana), and further increased in November 2016 under Mission Parivar Vikas.
10. Observation of World Population Day & fortnight from July 11 – July 24 to boost Family Planning efforts all over the country.
11. Observation of Vasectomy Fortnight from November 21 – December 4 in an effort to enhance male participation and revitalize the NSV programme, whereby male sterilization services would be provided to clients at health facilities.
12. Improved Demand generation activities through a holistic media campaignincluding mass media, mid media and inter personal communication.
13. Redesigned Contraceptive Packaging – The packaging for Condoms, OCPs and ECPs has been improved and redesigned since 2015 in order to increase the demand for these commodities.
14. Ensuring quality of care in Family Planning services by establishing Quality Assurance Committees in all states and districts.
15. National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme (NFPIS) under which clients are insured in the eventualities of death, complication and failure following sterilization.The scheme was introduced in 2005 and implemented through an insurance company. It was revised in 2013 and is now being operated by the state governments directly with NHM funding.
16. Family Planning Logistic Management and Information System (FP-LMIS): A dedicated software launched in 2017, to ensure smooth forecasting, procurement and distribution of family planning commodities across all the levels of health facilities.