For the first time in the country, the population of women has increased in comparison to men. Now there are 1,020 women for every 1,000 men. This is also the first time after independence that the population of women has reached more than 1000 as compared to men. This figure has come out in the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5). Earlier in the NFHS-4 conducted in 2015-16, this figure was 991 women for every 1,000 men.
Not only this, the sex ratio has also improved at the time of birth. In 2015-16, it was 919 girls per 1000 children, which has improved to 929 girls per 1000 children in 2019-21.
It has also come out in the NFHS-5 data that the improvement in sex ratio has been better in villages than in cities. There are 1,037 females for every 1,000 males in villages, while there are 985 females in cities. The same thing came out in NFHS-4 also. According to that survey, there were 1,009 women per 1,000 men in villages and 956 in cities.
There are 23 states in the country where the population of females per 1000 males is more than 1,000. There are 1017 females per thousand males in Uttar Pradesh, 1090 in Bihar, 913 in Delhi, 970 in Madhya Pradesh, 1009 in Rajasthan, 1015 in Chhattisgarh, 966 in Maharashtra, 938 in Punjab, 926 in Haryana, 1050 in Jharkhand.
In 1901, the sex ratio was 972 females per thousand males. But after independence this number decreased. In 1951, this figure was reduced to 946 women per thousand men. In 1971, it came down further to 930. According to the 2011 census, this figure improved slightly and the population of females per thousand males reached 940.
According to the survey of NFHS-5, there has also been a decrease in the fertility rate in the country. Fertility rate refers to the growth rate of the population. According to the survey, the fertility rate in the country has come down to 2. In 2015-16 it was 2.2.