India’s latest civil registration statistics, CRS 2024, released on Wednesday, by Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI), operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs indicate that registration is improving nationwide and that the sex ratio at birth is getting better in certain regions, although progress remains uneven across the States and Union Territories.
India’s sex ratio at birth is 917 females per 1,000 males, meaning that 917 girls are born for every 1,000 boys.
Top State performer in sex ratio at birth are:
Arunachal Pradesh - 1,050
Andaman and Nicobar Islands (984),
Meghalaya (974),
Mizoram (972)
Kerala’s - 970
Whereas the lowest Sex ratio at Birth are recorded in:
Nagaland (865)
Lakshadweep (865)
Jharkhand (890).
A sex ratio at birth that is close to the natural biological standard, or marginally above it, suggests that birth trends are not heavily influenced by sex-selective abortions or pregnancy terminations.
India known for deep-rooted cultural preference for sons, has historically faced difficulties in maintaining a balanced sex ratio at birth. A male-leaning imbalance in births has often made news across numerous parts of the country.
Haryana and Punjab have reported the lowest child sex ratios at birth.
As per the 2011 Census, Haryana registered 834 girls for every 1,000 boys, with Punjab close behind at 846. Policy-level efforts to address this imbalance have been lengthy and difficult.
In 2024, there were 81,117 recorded stillbirths, with a marked urban skew, as 69% of these occurred in urban areas.
Registered births increased from 2.52 crore in 2023 to 2.54 crore in 2024, while registered deaths rose from 86.6 lakh to 89.4 lakh. Thirteen States recorded over 90% registration of births, and 15 States achieved over 90% registration of deaths.
According to the CRS report, birth registration reached 99.1% in 2024 and death registration reached 99.4%, both nearly amounting to universal coverage.
The increase in registrations does not necessarily indicate a sharp rise in either fertility or mortality; rather, it shows that the system is now capturing births, deaths, stillbirths and sex ratio at birth more comprehensively.
