TN's total fertility rate declines to 1.4, lowest in India: SRS data

Tamil Nadu’s total fertility rate declined to 1.4 in 2020 from 1.8 recorded in the 2011 Census, according to latest data released by Sample Registration System (SRS) recently.

The state’s TFR along with West Bengal’s is the lowest in the country. Kerala is slightly ahead with a TFR of 1.5.

“Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have reported the lowest TFR (1.4). It is noteworthy that the replacement level TFR of 2.1 has been attained at the national level,” said the SRS report.

A decline in TFR means a fall in the number of children in the age group of 0-4 years – which is 5.6 per cent of the total population. Children in the age group of 0-14 years form 19.1 per cent of the population.

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The drastic fall in TFR may translate into the shutdown of primary schools and primary classes in big schools in the future as there may not be enough children to attend these schools or classes.

The number of people in the working age group of 15-58 – 69.2 per cent of the population – is also likely to decline as there are not many children who will reach this age group.

More adults, fewer children

“At the national level, the percentage of aged (60+) population is 8.1 per cent. The composition of 60+ aged female population is higher than males in all of the bigger states and UTs except Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and Telangana,” the report said.

In rural areas, those above 60 years constitute 8 per cent of the total population. The percentage of adult population in rural areas is the lowest in Bihar and Delhi (5.9 per cent) and highest in Kerala (13.2 per cent).

Also read: Fertility rate drops to 2.0; anaemia still prevalent in women, children: NFHS

Tamil Nadu’s senior citizen population is 11.7 per cent of its total population and is mostly concentrated in urban areas. This group constitutes 12.8 per cent of the urban population of the state, said the report.

The proportion of aged population in urban areas is 8.4 per cent, ranging from 5.9 per cent in Telangana to 12.8 per cent in Tamil Nadu. In case of females, the aged population (60 years and above) ranges from 6 per cent in Assam to 13.6 per cent in Kerala. The same ranges from 6.1 per cent in Delhi to 12.2 per cent in Kerala for males.

Also read: Sharpest fall in population growth rate has been among Muslims: NFHS-5 data

The crude birth rate in Tamil Nadu is also the lowest in the country. Tamil Nadu’s crude birth rate is 13.8 per cent, which is also the lowest in the country and Bihar has the highest crude birth rate of 25.5 per cent, said the report.