The annual population growth in India increased by 0.1 percentage points (+12.66 percent) in 2023. This was the first time during the observed period that the population growth has increased in India. Population growth refers to the annual change in population, and is based on the balance between birth and death rates, as well as migration.Find more key insights for the annual population growth in countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka.

India population growth rate for 2023 was 0.88%, a 0.09% increase from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>India population growth rate for 2022 was <strong>0.79%</strong>, a <strong>0.03% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>India population growth rate for 2021 was <strong>0.82%</strong>, a <strong>0.15% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>India population growth rate for 2020 was <strong>0.97%</strong>, a <strong>0.07% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

The median age in India was 27 years old in 2020, meaning half the population was older than that, half younger. This figure was lowest in 1970, at 18.1 years, and was projected to increase to 47.8 years old by 2100. Aging in India India has the second largest population in the world, after China. Because of the significant population growth of the past years, the age distribution remains skewed in favor of the younger age bracket. This tells a story of rapid population growth, but also of a lower life expectancy. Economic effects of a young population Many young people means that the Indian economy must support a large number of students, who demand education from the economy but cannot yet work. Educating the future workforce will be important, because the economy is growing as well and is one of the largest in the world. Failing to do this could lead to high youth unemployment and political consequences. However, a productive and young workforce could provide huge economic returns for India.

According to latest figures, the Chinese population decreased by 1.39 million to around 1.408 billion people in 2024. After decades of rapid growth, China arrived at the turning point of its demographic development in 2022, which was earlier than expected. The annual population decrease is estimated to remain at moderate levels until around 2030 but to accelerate thereafter. Population development in China China had for a long time been the country with the largest population worldwide, but according to UN estimates, it has been overtaken by India in 2023. As the population in India is still growing, the country is very likely to remain being home of the largest population on earth in the near future. Due to several mechanisms put into place by the Chinese government as well as changing circumstances in the working and social environment of the Chinese people, population growth has subsided over the past decades, displaying an annual population growth rate of -0.1 percent in 2024. Nevertheless, compared to the world population in total, China held a share of about 17 percent of the overall global population in 2024. China's aging population In terms of demographic developments, the birth control efforts of the Chinese government had considerable effects on the demographic pyramid in China. Upon closer examination of the age distribution, a clear trend of an aging population becomes visible. In order to curb the negative effects of an aging population, the Chinese government abolished the one-child policy in 2015, which had been in effect since 1979, and introduced a three-child policy in May 2021. However, many Chinese parents nowadays are reluctant to have a second or third child, as is the case in most of the developed countries in the world. The number of births in China varied in the years following the abolishment of the one-child policy, but did not increase considerably. Among the reasons most prominent for parents not having more children are the rising living costs and costs for child care, growing work pressure, a growing trend towards self-realization and individualism, and changing social behaviors.

Population: Goa data was reported at 1.579 Person mn in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.571 Person mn for 2023. Population: Goa data is updated yearly, averaging 1.485 Person mn from Mar 1994 (Median) to 2024, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.749 Person mn in 2011 and a record low of 1.209 Person mn in 1994. Population: Goa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.GBG001: Population. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

The share of projected population increase in Uttar Pradesh, India from 2011 until 2036 is expected to grow by nearly ** percent. By contrast, the estimated population increase in Uttarakhand is expected to be less than *** percent during the same time period.

Why project population?
Population projections for a country are becoming increasingly important now than ever before. They are used primarily by government policy makers and planners to better understand and gauge future demand for basic services that predominantly include water, food and energy. In addition, they also support in indicating major movements that may affect economic development and in turn, employment and labour productivity. Consequently, this leads to amending policies in order to better adapt to the needs of society and to various circumstances.

Demographic projections and health interventions Demographic figures serve the foremost purpose of improving health and health related services among the population. Some of the government interventions include antenatal and neonatal care with the aim of reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity rates. In addition, it also focuses on improving immunization coverage across the country. Further, demographic estimates help in better preempting the needs of growing populations, such as the geriatric population within a country.

Population: Kerala data was reported at 36.073 Person mn in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 35.716 Person mn for 2023. Population: Kerala data is updated yearly, averaging 33.016 Person mn from Mar 1994 (Median) to 2024, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 36.073 Person mn in 2024 and a record low of 29.879 Person mn in 1994. Population: Kerala data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.GBG001: Population. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

Population: Tamil Nadu data was reported at 77.222 Person mn in 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 76.993 Person mn for 2024. Population: Tamil Nadu data is updated yearly, averaging 66.611 Person mn from Mar 1994 (Median) to 2025, with 32 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 77.222 Person mn in 2025 and a record low of 57.670 Person mn in 1994. Population: Tamil Nadu data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.GBG001: Population. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

Population: Delhi data was reported at 21.588 Person mn in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 21.195 Person mn for 2023. Population: Delhi data is updated yearly, averaging 16.001 Person mn from Mar 1994 (Median) to 2024, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21.588 Person mn in 2024 and a record low of 10.446 Person mn in 1994. Population: Delhi data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.GBG001: Population. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

The statistic shows the total population of India from 2019 to 2029. In 2023, the estimated total population in India amounted to approximately 1.43 billion people.

Total population in India

India currently has the second-largest population in the world and is projected to overtake top-ranking China within forty years. Its residents comprise more than one-seventh of the entire world’s population, and despite a slowly decreasing fertility rate (which still exceeds the replacement rate and keeps the median age of the population relatively low), an increasing life expectancy adds to an expanding population. In comparison with other countries whose populations are decreasing, such as Japan, India has a relatively small share of aged population, which indicates the probability of lower death rates and higher retention of the existing population.

With a land mass of less than half that of the United States and a population almost four times greater, India has recognized potential problems of its growing population. Government attempts to implement family planning programs have achieved varying degrees of success. Initiatives such as sterilization programs in the 1970s have been blamed for creating general antipathy to family planning, but the combined efforts of various family planning and contraception programs have helped halve fertility rates since the 1960s. The population growth rate has correspondingly shrunk as well, but has not yet reached less than one percent growth per year.

As home to thousands of ethnic groups, hundreds of languages, and numerous religions, a cohesive and broadly-supported effort to reduce population growth is difficult to create. Despite that, India is one country to watch in coming years. It is also a growing economic power; among other measures, its GDP per capita was expected to triple between 2003 and 2013 and was listed as the third-ranked country for its share of the global gross domestic product.

BackgroundEven in low and middle income countries most deaths occur in older adults. In Europe, the effects of better education and home ownership upon mortality seem to persist into old age, but these effects may not generalise to LMICs. Reliable data on causes and determinants of mortality are lacking. Methods and FindingsThe vital status of 12,373 people aged 65 y and over was determined 3–5 y after baseline survey in sites in Latin America, India, and China. We report crude and standardised mortality rates, standardized mortality ratios comparing mortality experience with that in the United States, and estimated associations with socioeconomic factors using Cox's proportional hazards regression. Cause-specific mortality fractions were estimated using the InterVA algorithm. Crude mortality rates varied from 27.3 to 70.0 per 1,000 person-years, a 3-fold variation persisting after standardisation for demographic and economic factors. Compared with the US, mortality was much higher in urban India and rural China, much lower in Peru, Venezuela, and urban Mexico, and similar in other sites. Mortality rates were higher among men, and increased with age. Adjusting for these effects, it was found that education, occupational attainment, assets, and pension receipt were all inversely associated with mortality, and food insecurity positively associated. Mutually adjusted, only education remained protective (pooled hazard ratio 0.93, 95% CI 0.89–0.98). Most deaths occurred at home, but, except in India, most individuals received medical attention during their final illness. Chronic diseases were the main causes of death, together with tuberculosis and liver disease, with stroke the leading cause in nearly all sites. ConclusionsEducation seems to have an important latent effect on mortality into late life. However, compositional differences in socioeconomic position do not explain differences in mortality between sites. Social protection for older people, and the effectiveness of health systems in preventing and treating chronic disease, may be as important as economic and human development. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary

Population: Telangana data was reported at 38.363 Person mn in 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 38.181 Person mn for 2024. Population: Telangana data is updated yearly, averaging 36.766 Person mn from Mar 2005 (Median) to 2025, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 38.363 Person mn in 2025 and a record low of 32.741 Person mn in 2005. Population: Telangana data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.GBG001: Population. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

Abstract

An effective policy response to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic requires an enormous range of data to inform the design and response of programs. Public health measures require data on the spread of the disease, beliefs in the population, and capacity of the health system. Relief efforts depend on an understanding of hardships being faced by various segments of the population. Food policy requires measurement of agricultural production and hunger. In such a rapidly evolving pandemic, these data must be collected at a high frequency. Given the unexpected nature of the shock and urgency with which a response was required, Indian policymakers needed to formulate policies affecting India’s 1.4 billion people, without the detailed evidence required to construct effective programs. To help overcome this evidence gap, the World Bank, IDinsight, and the Development Data Lab sought to produce rigorous and responsive data for policymakers across six states in India: Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.

Geographic coverage

Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh

Analysis unit

Household

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

This dataset includes observations covering six states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh) and three survey rounds. The survey did not have a single, unified frame from which to sample phone numbers. The final sample was assembled from several different sample frames, and the choice of frame sample frames varied across states and survey rounds.

These frames comprise four prior IDinsight projects and from an impact evaluation of the National Rural Livelihoods project conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development. Each of these surveys sought to represent distinct populations, and employed idiosyncratic sample designs and weighting schemes.

A detailed note covering key features of each sample frame is available for download.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Telephone Interview [cati]

Research instrument

The survey questionnaires covered the following subjects:

1. Agriculture: COVID-19-related changes in price realisation, acreage decisions, input expenditure, access to credit, access to fertilisers, etc.

2. Income and consumption: Changes in wage rates, employment duration, consumption expenditure, prices of essential commodities, status of food security etc.

3. Migration: Rates of in-migration, migrant income and employment status, return migration plans etc.

4. Access to relief: Access to in-kind, cash and workfare relief, quantities of relief received, and constraints on the access to relief.

5. Health: Access to health facilities and rates of foregone healthcare, knowledge of COVID-19 related symptoms and protective behaviours.

While a number of indicators were consistent across all three rounds, questions were added and removed as and when necessary to account for seasonal changes (i.e: in the agricultural cycle).

Response rate

Round 1: ~55% Round 2: ~46% Round 3: ~55%

This folder includes datasets and do-files for our paper "Missing Women in India: Gender-Specific Effects of Early-Life Rainfall Shocks". It contains rainfall data for each Indian district from 1911 to 2011, and has population by single age for each district in Census years (1991, 2001, and 2011).

Abstract

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, along with the preventive measures designed to slow its spread, are putting great stress on India's economy, and affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, including refugees across the country. To determine the exact social and economic consequences of the crisis, UNDP and UNICEF, are working under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinators, and in close collaboration with specialized UN agencies, to assess the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable communities. UNHCR led the socio economic impact assessment for refugee population in India. The assessment was conducted in collaboration with UNICEF and in partnership with BOSCO.

As of June 2020, 40,068 refugees and asylum seekers from different nationalities are registered with UNHCR in India (28,053 refugees and 12,015 asylum seekers). Approximately 51% of the population registered with UNHCR lives in Delhi NCR, the remaining population live throughout the country, with bigger groups in Hyderabad, Jammu and Mewat. Rohingya are the largest group of persons of concern to UNHCR in India with 17,772 persons, followed by Afghans (15,806 persons). Of the total population registered with UNHCR, 47% are women and girls while 16% are persons with specific needs.

The survival mechanism for most of the refugees and asylum seekers is mainly based on a daily income that is immensely challenged with the ongoing lockdown and restriction of movement introduced by the central and state governments. These restrictions make it impossible for asylum seekers and refugees to reach the location of their informal employment or daily income generating activities, or to receive customers for their goods and services. Their income and possible savings have dried up leaving them with no means to adequately provide for their families, including in the areas of food, shelter and medicine

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

Individuals and households

Universe

All refugees registered by UNHCR in India.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Clustered random sampling, with clusters divided by region (Delhi, outside Delhi), and legal status (Asylum seekers and Refugees).

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Telephone Interview [cati]

Research instrument

Questionnaires included 9 modules: 1. General information 2. Awareness of COVID outbreak 3. Current work situation and impact on household income 4. Social protection at times of lockdown 5. Life at times of lockdown 6. Scenario of work during lockdown relaxation/after lockdown 7. Protection 8. Education/Children's Protection/SGBV 9. General questions

Cleaning operations

Data was cleaned and anonymized for licensed use.

Population: Manipur data was reported at 3.238 Person mn in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.209 Person mn for 2023. Population: Manipur data is updated yearly, averaging 2.709 Person mn from Mar 1994 (Median) to 2024, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.514 Person mn in 2021 and a record low of 1.952 Person mn in 1994. Population: Manipur data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.GBG001: Population. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

Data set of a community based cross-sectional survey done to find the prevalence , its correlates and patterns in a population of a district in southern Kerala, IndiaBackground: Multi-morbidity is the coexistence of multiple chronic conditions in the same individual. With advancing epidemiological and demographic transitions, the burden of multi-morbidity is expected to increase India. The state of Kerala in India is also in an advanced phase of epidemiological transition. However, very limited data on prevalence of multi-morbidity are available in the Kerala population.

Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted among 410 participants in the age group of 30-69 years. A multi-stage cluster sampling method was employed to identify the study participants. Every eligible participant in the household were interviewed to assess the household prevalence. A structured interview schedule was used to assess socio-demographic variables, behavioral risk factors and prevailing clinical conditions, PHQ-9 questionnaire for screening of depression and active measurement of blood sugar and blood pressure. Co-existence of two or more conditions out of 11 was used as multi-morbidity case definition. Bivariate analyses were done to understand the association between socio-demographic factors and multi-morbidity. Logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the effect size of these variables on multi-morbidity.

Results: Overall, the prevalence of multi-morbidity was 45.4% (95% CI: 40.5-50.3%). Nearly a quarter of study participants (25.4%) reported only one chronic condition (21.3-29.9%). Further, 30.7% (26.3-35.5), 10.7% (7.9-14.2), 3.7% (2.1-6.0) and 0.2% reported two, three, four and five chronic conditions, respectively. Nearly seven out of ten households (72%, 95%CI: 65-78%) had at least one person in the household with multi-morbidity and one in five households (22%, 95%CI: 16.7-28.9%) had more than one person with multi-morbidity. With every year increase in age, the propensity for multi-morbidity increased by 10 percent (OR=1.1; 95% CI: 1.1-1.2). Males and participants with low levels of education were less likely to suffer from multi-morbidity while unemployed and who do recommended level of physical activity were significantly more likely to suffer from multi-morbidity. Diabetes and hypertension was the most frequent dyad.

Conclusion: One of two participants in the productive age group of 30-69 years report multi-morbidity. Further, seven of ten households have at least one person with multi-morbidity. Preventive and management guidelines for chronic non-communicable conditions should focus on multi-morbidity especially in the older age group. Health-care systems that function within the limits of vertical disease management and episodic care (e.g., maternal health, tuberculosis, malaria, cardiovascular disease, mental health etc.) require optimal re-organization and horizontal integration of care across disease domains in managing people with multiple chronic conditions.

Key words: Multi-morbidity, cross-sectional, household, active measurement, rural, India, pattern

Poverty and empowerment impacts of the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project: Evidence from a Mixed-Methods Cluster-Randomized Trial Jeevika is a World Bank assisted project focussed (now under the umbrella of the NRLM) on building networks of women's self-help credit and savings groups,and then using them as a base of other "vertical" interventions. This houshold and village survey data was collected over two rounds to conduct an impact evaluation of Phase 2 of the project with random assignment of the project over a two year period. Collaboration: World Bank Social Observatory team with Government of Bihar. Evaluation design, methods and implementation In order to evaluate the impacts of Jeevika, 180 panchayats were randomly selected from within 16 blocks in seven districts where scale-up of the project was planned but had not yet occurred. Some of these blocks were in districts relatively far from Patna, which had not yet been entered by the project (Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul), while others were within the larger districts within which Jeevika was already operating (Gaya, Nalanda, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur). The project had already entered these districts in Phase 1, but had not yet expanded to all blocks due to (project) capacity constraints. Within each of the study villages, hamlets (tolas) in which the majority of the population belonged to a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe were identified. This was the same procedure as used by Jeevika to identify the target population (of poor women) for mobilization into the project. Tolas were identified through a focus group discussion held in each village, along with the population of target castes (SC/STs) within each. In Bihar, tola boundaries are easily distinguishable. Field teams would enter the tola at a random point, determine the skip pattern based on the population size and target sample size, and select households through a random walk. Survey staff aimed to include 70% SC/ST households, and 30% households from other castes in each village, in order to ensure variation in socio-economic status within the sample. If the households in selected tolas included fewer SC/ST households than this, households from nearby non-SC/ST majority tolas were also included in the sample. Interviews for the quantitative study were conducted using a structured paper survey form. Baseline and follow up surveys included detailed questions on debt, asset holdings, consumption expenditures, livelihood activities, and women’s mobility, role in household decisions, and aspirations. In addition, in each village, a focus group discussion was conducted, through which data were collected on village level attributes such as local sources of credit, interest rates from each source, local wage rates, and the presence of or distance to markets and other institutions and amenities. Respondents were not compensated for their time. If a respondent was unavailable during initial field visit, the supervisor recorded contact details and returned with interviewers at a later date. As long as the survey team was in that district, repeat visits were undertaken, keeping attrition to a minimum. If a household could not be re-surveyed at endline, it was replaced with another household in the same village. Short re-surveys containing a subset of questions from the main survey were conducted by supervisors for 10% of the sample. Staff from the project also conducted occasional visits after the survey was completed in a village to confirm that all modules had been covered by survey staff. Data was entered in duplicate using CSPro and any discrepancies were corrected based on the paper form. Following the baseline survey, panchayats were stratified on the 16 administrative blocks in the sample and the panchayat-level mean of outstanding high cost (monthly interest rate of 4% or higher) debt held by households at baseline. They were then randomly assigned to an early rollout group or a late rollout group using the random number generator within the Stata statistical analysis software package. The baseline survey was administered to 8988 households across 333 villages in 179 panchayats. The target number of households per panchayat was 50, but there was some variation around this in reality. The lowest number of households in a given panchayat was 49 (9 panchayats), and the largest number was 53 households (3 panchayats). To ensure that control panchayats were not entered by the project, Jeevika held a quarterly ""evaluation panchayat"" meeting, which block project managers of the 16 blocks were required to attend. At these meetings the project M&E team checked whether any village in a control panchayat had been entered, and received an update on progress in treatment panchayats. This procedure was successful in maintaining adherence to randomized tr... Visit https://dataone.org/datasets/sha256%3A33337f03a8c2dabc0a718655e958c47678381b39ee277e0c820aeca2b66a6db8 for complete metadata about this dataset.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, along with the preventive measures designed to slow its spread, are putting great stress on India's economy, and affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, including refugees across the country. To determine the exact social and economic consequences of the crisis, UNDP and UNICEF, are working under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinators, and in close collaboration with specialized UN agencies, to assess the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable communities. UNHCR led the socio economic impact assessment for refugee population in India. The assessment was conducted in collaboration with UNICEF and in partnership with BOSCO.

As of June 2020, 40,068 refugees and asylum seekers from different nationalities are registered with UNHCR in India (28,053 refugees and 12,015 asylum seekers). Approximately 51% of the population registered with UNHCR lives in Delhi NCR, the remaining population live throughout the country, with bigger groups in Hyderabad, Jammu and Mewat. Rohingya are the largest group of persons of concern to UNHCR in India with 17,772 persons, followed by Afghans (15,806 persons). Of the total population registered with UNHCR, 47% are women and girls while 16% are persons with specific needs.

The survival mechanism for most of the refugees and asylum seekers is mainly based on a daily income that is immensely challenged with the ongoing lockdown and restriction of movement introduced by the central and state governments. These restrictions make it impossible for asylum seekers and refugees to reach the location of their informal employment or daily income generating activities, or to receive customers for their goods and services. Their income and possible savings have dried up leaving them with no means to adequately provide for their families, including in the areas of food, shelter and medicine

The second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2), conducted in 1998-99, provides information on fertility, mortality, family planning, and important aspects of nutrition, health, and health care. The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) coordinated the survey, which collected information from a nationally representative sample of more than 90,000 ever-married women age 15-49. The NFHS-2 sample covers 99 percent of India's population living in all 26 states. This report is based on the survey data for 25 of the 26 states, however, since data collection in Tripura was delayed due to local problems in the state. IIPS also coordinated the first National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1) in 1992-93. Most of the types of information collected in NFHS-2 were also collected in the earlier survey, making it possible to identify trends over the intervening period of six and one-half years. In addition, the NFHS-2 questionnaire covered a number of new or expanded topics with important policy implications, such as reproductive health, women's autonomy, domestic violence, women's nutrition, anaemia, and salt iodization. The NFHS-2 survey was carried out in two phases. Ten states were surveyed in the first phase which began in November 1998 and the remaining states (except Tripura) were surveyed in the second phase which began in March 1999. The field staff collected information from 91,196 households in these 25 states and interviewed 89,199 eligible women in these households. In addition, the survey collected information on 32,393 children born in the three years preceding the survey. One health investigator on each survey team measured the height and weight of eligible women and children and took blood samples to assess the prevalence of anaemia. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS Three-quarters (73 percent) of the population lives in rural areas. The age distribution is typical of populations that have recently experienced a fertility decline, with relatively low proportions in the younger and older age groups. Thirty-six percent of the population is below age 15, and 5 percent is age 65 and above. The sex ratio is 957 females for every 1,000 males in rural areas but only 928 females for every 1,000 males in urban areas, suggesting that more men than women have migrated to urban areas. The survey provides a variety of demographic and socioeconomic background information. In the country as a whole, 82 percent of household heads are Hindu, 12 percent are Muslim, 3 percent are Christian, and 2 percent are Sikh. Muslims live disproportionately in urban areas, where they comprise 15 percent of household heads. Nineteen percent of household heads belong to scheduled castes, 9 percent belong to scheduled tribes, and 32 percent belong to other backward classes (OBCs). Two-fifths of household heads do not belong to any of these groups. Questions about housing conditions and the standard of living of households indicate some improvements since the time of NFHS-1. Sixty percent of households in India now have electricity and 39 percent have piped drinking water compared with 51 percent and 33 percent, respectively, at the time of NFHS-1. Sixty-four percent of households have no toilet facility compared with 70 percent at the time of NFHS-1. About three-fourths (75 percent) of males and half (51 percent) of females age six and above are literate, an increase of 6-8 percentage points from literacy rates at the time of NFHS-1. The percentage of illiterate males varies from 6-7 percent in Mizoram and Kerala to 37 percent in Bihar and the percentage of illiterate females varies from 11 percent in Mizoram and 15 percent in Kerala to 65 percent in Bihar. Seventy-nine percent of children age 6-14 are attending school, up from 68 percent in NFHS-1. The proportion of children attending school has increased for all ages, particularly for girls, but girls continue to lag behind boys in school attendance. Moreover, the disparity in school attendance by sex grows with increasing age of children. At age 6-10, 85 percent of boys attend school compared with 78 percent of girls. By age 15-17, 58 percent of boys attend school compared with 40 percent of girls. The percentage of girls 6-17 attending school varies from 51 percent in Bihar and 56 percent in Rajasthan to over 90 percent in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. Women in India tend to marry at an early age. Thirty-four percent of women age 15-19 are already married including 4 percent who are married but gauna has yet to be performed. These proportions are even higher in the rural areas. Older women are more likely than younger women to have married at an early age: 39 percent of women currently age 45-49 married before age 15 compared with 14 percent of women currently age 15-19. Although this indicates that the proportion of women who marry young is declining rapidly, half the women even in the age group 20-24 have married before reaching the legal minimum age of 18 years. On average, women are five years younger than the men they marry. The median age at marriage varies from about 15 years in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh to 23 years in Goa. As part of an increasing emphasis on gender issues, NFHS-2 asked women about their participation in household decisionmaking. In India, 91 percent of women are involved in decision-making on at least one of four selected topics. A much lower proportion (52 percent), however, are involved in making decisions about their own health care. There are large variations among states in India with regard to women's involvement in household decisionmaking. More than three out of four women are involved in decisions about their own health care in Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Punjab compared with about two out of five or less in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Rajasthan. Thirty-nine percent of women do work other than housework, and more than two-thirds of these women work for cash. Only 41 percent of women who earn cash can decide independently how to spend the money that they earn. Forty-three percent of working women report that their earnings constitute at least half of total family earnings, including 18 percent who report that the family is entirely dependent on their earnings. Women's work-participation rates vary from 9 percent in Punjab and 13 percent in Haryana to 60-70 percent in Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. FERTILITY AND FAMILY PLANNING Fertility continues to decline in India. At current fertility levels, women will have an average of 2.9 children each throughout their childbearing years. The total fertility rate (TFR) is down from 3.4 children per woman at the time of NFHS-1, but is still well above the replacement level of just over two children per woman. There are large variations in fertility among the states in India. Goa and Kerala have attained below replacement level fertility and Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab are at or close to replacement level fertility. By contrast, fertility is 3.3 or more children per woman in Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. More than one-third to less than half of all births in these latter states are fourth or higher-order births compared with 7-9 percent of births in Kerala, Goa, and Tamil Nadu. Efforts to encourage the trend towards lower fertility might usefully focus on groups within the population that have higher fertility than average. In India, rural women and women from scheduled tribes and scheduled castes have somewhat higher fertility than other women, but fertility is particularly high for illiterate women, poor women, and Muslim women. Another striking feature is the high level of childbearing among young women. More than half of women age 20-49 had their first birth before reaching age 20, and women age 15-19 account for almost one-fifth of total fertility. Studies in India and elsewhere have shown that health and mortality risks increase when women give birth at such young ages?both for the women themselves and for their children. Family planning programmes focusing on women in this age group could make a significant impact on maternal and child health and help to reduce fertility. INFANT AND CHILD MORTALITY NFHS-2 provides estimates of infant and child mortality and examines factors associated with the survival of young children. During the five years preceding the survey, the infant mortality rate was 68 deaths at age 0-11 months per 1,000 live births, substantially lower than 79 per 1,000 in the five years preceding the NFHS-1 survey. The child mortality rate, 29 deaths at age 1-4 years per 1,000 children reaching age one, also declined from the corresponding rate of 33 per 1,000 in NFHS-1. Ninety-five children out of 1,000 born do not live to age five years. Expressed differently, 1 in 15 children die in the first year of life, and 1 in 11 die before reaching age five. Child-survival programmes might usefully focus on specific groups of children with particularly high infant and child mortality rates, such as children who live in rural areas, children whose mothers are illiterate, children belonging to scheduled castes or scheduled tribes, and children from poor households. Infant mortality rates are more than two and one-half times as high for women who did not receive any of the recommended types of maternity related medical care than for mothers who did receive all recommended types of care. HEALTH, HEALTH CARE, AND NUTRITION Promotion of maternal and child health has been one of the most important components of the Family Welfare Programme of the Government of India. One goal is for each pregnant woman to receive at least three antenatal check-ups plus two tetanus toxoid injections and a full course of iron and folic acid supplementation. In India, mothers of 65 percent of the children born in the three years preceding NFHS-2 received at least one antenatal