State of World Population-2019 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

State of World Population-2019 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

India’s population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.

: India’s population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2 per cent between 2010 and 2019 to 1.36 billion, more than double the annual growth rate of China, according to a report by the United Nations Population Fund.

India’s population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.

India’s population grew at average annual rate of 1.2 per cent between 2010 and 2019, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency said in the State of World Population 2019 report.

In comparison, China’s population stood at 1.42 billion in 2019, growing from 1.23 billion in 1994 and 803.6 million in 1969.

China’s population grew at an average annual rate of 0.5 per cent between 2010 and 2019, the report said.

According to the report, in India, total fertility rate per woman was 5.6 in 1969, dropping to 3.7 in 1994 and 2.3 in 2019.

India recorded an improvement in life expectancy at birth. The life expectancy at birth in 1969 was 47 years, growing to 60 years in 1994 and 69 years in 2019.

Giving a snapshot of India’s population composition in 2019, the report said 27 % of the country’s population was in the age bracket of 0-14 years and 10-24 years each, while 67 % of the country’s population was in the 15-64 age bracket.

Six per cent of the country’s population was of the age 65 and above.

Indicative of the improvement in the quality of India’s health care system, the report noted that Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in the country dropped from 488 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1994 to 174 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015.

Director of UNFPA Geneva Monica Ferro said the figures were “worrisome” and it was essential to raise the level of consent and access to vital health services for millions of women around the world.

“Don’t forget: each one of these numbers is a person,” she said.

The findings, relating to women aged between 15-49 years, were published for the first time as part of United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFP) State of World Population 2019 report.

The report includes, for the first time, data on women’s ability to make decisions over three key areas: sexual intercourse with their partner, contraception use and health care.

According to the analysis, the absence of reproductive and sexual rights has a major and negative repercussions on women’s education, income and safety, leaving them “unable to shape their own futures“.

Early marriage continues to present a major cultural obstacle to female empowerment and better reproductive rights, the UNFPA report said.

“A girl who marries when she is 10 will probably leave school. And because she leaves school, she won’t get the negotiating skills, and she won’t get the specific skills which will allow her to then get a better-paid job, Ferro said.

Those women and girls left behind “are typically poor, rural and less educated,” Ms. Ferro said, adding that “two-thirds of all maternal deaths today occur in sub-Saharan Africa”.

Despite these concerns, the UNFPA report highlights that “untold millions” have enjoyed healthier and more productive lives in the 50 years since the agency was founded, thanks to pressure from civil society and governments to dramatically reduce unintended pregnancies and maternal deaths.

Highlighting positive changes in the last half-century, the report shows that in 1969, the average number of births per woman was 4.8, compared with 2.9 in 1994, and 2.5 today.

Looking ahead to future challenges, the UN agency highlights the threat to women’s and girls’ reproductive rights posed by emergencies caused by conflict or climate disasters.

About 35 million women, girls and young people will need life-saving sexual and reproductive health services this year, as well as services to address gender-based violence, in humanitarian settings, it warns.

“Every day, more than 500 women and girls including in countries with emergency settings, die during pregnancy and childbirth, due to the absence of skilled birth attendants or emergency obstetric procedures,” Ferro said.

India’s population grew twice as fast as China’s: UN report

The least developed countries recorded the highest population growth, with countries in Africa registering an average of 2.7% a year, said the report, which marks 50 years of the UNFPA being established to support countries to bring down fertility levels.

India’s population grew at 1.2% a year between 2010 and 2019, marginally higher than the global average of 1.1% a year in this period, but more than double China’s 0.5% a year, according to the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) State of the World Population 2018 report released on Wednesday.

The world’s population rose to 7.715 billion in 2019, up from 7.633 billion the year before, with the average life expectancy remaining 72 years.

The least developed countries recorded the highest population growth, with countries in Africa registering an average of 2.7% a year, said the report, which marks 50 years of the UNFPA being established to support countries to bring down fertility levels.Much of the overall increase in global population till 2050 is projected to occur in high fertility countries, mostly in Africa, or in countries with large populations, such as India and Nigeria.

Around half India’s population in 24 states have achieved so-called replacement fertility rates of 2.1 children per women, which is the desired family size when the population stops growing, but the country’s large youth bulge will continue to fuel population growth even as the size of the ageing population increases.

“India must prepare for its growing ageing population by understanding the dynamics and riding its demographic dividend by making sure young people are well educated, healthy and contribute to society to help grow the economy and look after elderly going forward,” said Klaus Beck, Officer-in-Charge, UNFPA India.

“Employment for young people is critical, as is developing public policies for the elderly on pension, services and support, and customised safety nets. You have to start thinking now.

India still has time to prepare and learn from what other countries have done well and how it can be customised for India,” he added.

The poorest 20% households have the largest unmet need for contraception and reproductive health services, with adolescents, disabled, unmarried young people, and the socially marginalised being the most deprived, said the report.

The report also marks 25 years of International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994, where 179 governments agreed on a rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health to address population growth. Maternal deaths have declined by at least 40% since 1994.

“India has made some groundbreaking shifts at the policy level and moved from a target approach to family planning services and methods to a rights-based approach, 
but it has still not fully moved away from sterilisation incentives and disincentives, which should never have been used,” said Poonam Muttreja, executive director, Population Foundation of India.

  • UNFPA is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly.
  • UNFPA is entirely supported by voluntary contributions of donor governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and foundations and individuals, NOT by the United Nations regular budget.
  • UNFPA works directly to tackle Sustainable Development Goal 3 on health, Goal 4 on education and Goal 5 on gender equality.


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