Demographic crisis looked up, the birth rate of Himachal reached below 12

Himachal Pradesh is engaged in an important demographic change, the birth rate has dropped rapidly over the past two decades – below 20.5 to 12. In 2005, when the state’s population was about 65 lakhs, about 1.34 lakh births were registered. By 2024, despite the population growing to 80 million, only about 88,000 births were recorded – a decrease of about 45,000 annual births in just 20 years. The last time less than 90,000 births were recorded in the state in 1994, when about 82,000 registrations were made. However, the population was less than 55 lakhs at the time. After 1995, there was a steady increase in births, which reached 1.40 million in 2006 – the state has the highest record ever. The annual birth rate remained stable between 2005 and 2010, but after 2010 it began to see a steady decline, which dropped below one lakh in 2018 and dropped below 90,000 in 2024. The diminishing number of births is now reflected in school entries, especially in government schools. According to Ashish Kohli, director of the director of school education, the student number in government schools in 2002 came from 9.71 lakh to only 4,29 lakhs. “While many students have moved to private schools, the falling total fertility rate (TFR) is also an important factor behind this decline,” Kohli said. Dr. Prakash Chand Daroch said Himachal’s TFR dropped to 1.47, which is far below the replacement rate 2.1. “The department cannot determine the size of the family, but reproductive trends require intervention at government level.” Sanju Karol, director of the Population Research Center, Shimla, attributes the rising female literacy, delays marriage and the use of contraception for the decline in TFR. Share this story -tags