India's population is projected to reach 1.46 billion by the end of this year, but the fertility rate has fallen to 1.90 per woman, which is less than the 2.1 required to maintain the population level. In this context, the day is not far when India will also have to provide incentives to have children like Russia.
Because after the fall in the fertility rate, it is believed that if this trend is not reversed through policy intervention, it will be challenging to maintain the population level in India for a long time. The new demographic report of the United Nations states that India's fertility rate has fallen below the replacement rate.
'The Real Fertility Crisis'
UNFPA's 'State of the World Population (SOWP) Report 2025' titled 'The Real Fertility Crisis' calls for focusing on unfulfilled fertility targets instead of panicking about the decline in fertility. The report says that millions of people are not able to achieve their fertility targets. According to the report, this is the real crisis rather than low or high population and the answer lies in improved fertility.
The report also reveals changes in population structure, fertility and life expectancy, which indicate a major demographic transition. The report found that India's total fertility rate has declined to 1.9 births per woman, below the replacement level of 2.1.
India still has a significant young population
This means that on average women are having fewer children than the number needed to maintain the population size from one generation to the next. Despite the decline in fertility rate, India still has a significant young population, with 24 per cent in the 0-14 age group, 17 per cent in the 10-19 age group and 26 per cent in the 10-24 age group.
68 percent of the population is in the working age group i.e. between 15 and 64 years. The United Nations report puts India in the group of middle-income countries that are undergoing rapid demographic change. UNFPA representative in India Andrea M Wojnar said that India has made significant progress in reducing the fertility rate.