A significant rural-urban divide in the fertility rate was seen in the country in recent data, which states that the fertility rate varies from 53.7 in urban areas to 73.7 in rural areas, while nationally there is 67 children per thousand women were born between the ages of 15-49 years.

According to the 2020 Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report data, the overall fertility rate (GFR) varies from 45.3 in Kerala to 93.9 in Bihar among the larger states/UTs.

The data show that fertility in all age groups is higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Fertility peaks in the age group 25-29 and thereafter declines regardless of place of residence.

The estimate of the general fertility rate (GFR), a refined measure of fertility, has been defined as the number of live births per thousand women in the reproductive age group of 15 to 49 years and is a useful tool for measuring fertility

At the all-India level, a 20.2 percent decline in GFR was recorded over the decade, ranging from 20.2 percent in rural areas to 15.6 percent in urban areas. Among the larger states/UTs, the percentage decrease in GFR varies from 29.2 in Jammu & Kashmir to 12.3 in Kerala.

At the national level, there is a shift in the fertility trend, with fertility increasing in the later age groups of 30 to 44 years, while fertility in the younger age groups of 15 to 29 years is declining.

With the exception of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, where fertility peaked in the 20-24 age group, and in Jammu and Kashmir, where fertility peaked in the 30-34 age group, the highest fertility in all other major states/UTs reached in the age group 25-29.

However, fertility declined from age 30 in all major states/UTs, with the exception of Jammu and Kashmir, where it declined from age 35.

The ASFR (Age Specific Fertility Rate) in the younger age group 15-19 varies from 2.6 in Delhi to 22.3 in West Bengal.

In the 30-34 age group, the variation in ASFR level ranges from 41.9 in West Bengal to 147.0 in Bihar.

–IANS

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