As well as being one of the largest, India is one of the most crowded countries on earth, with an average of more than 300 people per square kilometer of arable land. Roughly two-thirds of the population are concentrated in coastal states and along the wide Gangetic plain which stretches from Himachal Pradesh and Haryana States in the west to West Bengal next to Bangladesh in the east. Population densities in these crowded areas exceed 500 per square kilometer. Nearly three-quarters of India’s 953 million people live in some 600,000 villages, half of them with populations of less than 1,000. The other striking demographic feature of India is its diversity. India contains hundreds of distinct ethnic groups, speaking 14 major languages and hundreds of local dialects. Realistic population and reproductive health strategies must take account of this rich variety.

According to the World Bank, India contains 40 per cent or 411 million of the world’s absolute poor. Of this disadvantaged group, 60 per cent are women.

India’s population growth rate in 1997 was down to 1.8 per cent a year, but because of the huge population base, this relatively low growth rate still translates into a net population gain of about 18 million a year.

Because of high fertility in the past, close to 36 per cent of the entire population are children under 14. What this means is that, even if fertility fell to replacement level tomorrow, the population would continue to expand for another 40 years, until children already born have passed through their reproductive period.

Nevertheless, India’s demographic and health profile is radically different today than in 1951, when the country launched its first family planning programme. During the 44 years from 1951 to 1995, fertility declined by about two-fifths, and life expectancy at birth doubled. During the same period, infant mortality dropped from an average of close to 150 per 1,000 live births to 79, while maternal mortality was reduced by half, from 800 per 100,000 live births to 437. By 1992, the population growth rate had slipped below 2 per cent for the first time. Fertility levels also declined significantly, from 6 children per woman in 1960 to an average of 3.4 by 1996. The current contraceptive prevalence rate (for all methods) is 45 per cent.

Following the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, India began to rebuild its entire public health and welfare sector. The country has replaced the narrowly focused family planning programme with a broad-based, integrated approach emphasizing reproductive health and family well-being. UNFPA has played a critical role in assisting India in redirecting its population efforts away from family planning targets and quotas and focusing instead on providing high-quality services within a comprehensive reproductive health care system.

top