India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) has improved very marginally from 33 per 1,000 live births in 2017 to 32 in 2018, according to data released by the Registrar General of India. The IMR has declined significantly over the years; in 1971, it was 129.
Madhya Pradesh continues to have the worst IMR in the country at 48 while Nagaland has the best at 4. In fact, MP’s IMR has worsened slightly from 2017 when it stood at 47. The urban rural differential in MP is huge with the rural IMR at 51, while the urban IMR at 32.
Among large states, Kerala is the best performer being the only state with an IMR in single digits at 7. It is also the only state which has now achieved the United Nations’ sustainable development goal in this regard.
According to the data released by the Registrar General of India, the national birth rate in 2018 stood at 20, and death and infant mortality rates stood at 6.2 and 32, respectively. The rates are calculated per one thousand of the population.
The data largely reflects past trends as far as the position of states is concerned with marginal improvements at national level on health indices.
The data shows that against the national infant mortality rate (IMR) of 32, Madhya Pradesh has an IMR of 48 and Nagaland 4. Bihar has the highest birth rate at 26.2 and Andaman and Nicobar Islands has a birth rate of 11.2. Chhattisgarh has the highest death rate at 8 and Delhi, an almost entirely urban state, has a rate of 3.3, indicating better healthcare facilities.
Mortality is one of the basic components of population change and the related data is essential for demographic studies and public health administration. The death rate of India has witnessed a significant decline over the last four decades from 14.9 in 1971 to 6.2 in 2018. The decline has been steeper in rural areas. In the last decade, death rate at an all-India level has declined from 7.3 to 6.2. The corresponding decline in rural areas is 7.8 to 6.7 and in urban areas, 5.8 to 5.1.
As far as IMR is concerned, the present figure of 32 is about one-fourth as compared to 1971 (129). In the last 10 years, IMR has witnessed a decline of about 35 per cent in rural areas and about 32 per cent in urban areas. The IMR at an all-India level has declined from 50 to 32 in the last decade.
Birth rate is a crude measure of fertility of a population and a crucial determinant of population growth. India’s birth rate has declined drastically over the last four decades from 36.9 in 1971 to 20.0 in 2018.
The SRS is a demographic survey for providing reliable annual estimates of infant mortality rate, birth rate, death rate and other fertility and mortality indicators at the national and sub-national levels.
Initiated on a pilot basis by the Registrar General of India in a few states in 1964-65, it became fully operational during 1969-70.