India’s Fertility Rate Holds At 2.0, But Women Still Bear The Burden Of Population Control
India’s Fertility Rate Holds At 2.0, But Women Still Bear The Burden Of Population Control Reported By, Last Updated: June 12, 2026, 10:32 IST The
India’s Fertility Rate Holds At 2.0, But Women Still Bear The Burden Of Population Control Reported By, Last Updated: June 12, 2026, 10:32 IST The burden of permanent contraception continues to fall on women, with female sterilisation reported by 36.5 per cent of married women compared to just 0.5 per cent for males. Rapid Read Between NFHS-5 and NFHS-6, female sterilisation declined from 37.9 per cent to 36.5 per cent. India remains below replacement-level fertility, with the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) holding steady at 2.0 across the last two rounds of the Family Health Survey (NFHS). However, the analysis of data by News18 shows that the burden of permanent contraception continues to fall overwhelmingly on women, with female sterilisation reported by 36.5 per cent of married women compared to just 0.5 per cent for male sterilisation in India. Between NFHS-5 and NFHS-6, female sterilisation declined from 37.9 per cent to 36.5 per cent. Among men, the change was a marginal 0.2 percentage point increase – from 0.3 per cent to 0.5 per cent. This means that among currently married women aged 15-49, female sterilisation is the chosen family planning method for about 37 out of every 100 women on average, while male sterilisation is reported by fewer than one in 100 men. In effect, female sterilisation remains 73 times more common than male sterilisation in India. Among men, the steepest jump was reported in Telangana – from 2 per cent in NFHS-5 to 3.6 per cent in NFHS-6. With this, the state overtook Himachal Pradesh that was at the top in male sterilisation in NFHS-5. Now, the hill state has slipped to second spot with about one percentage point drop – from 3.3 in NFHS-5 to 2.3 in NFHS-6.
Even in Telangana, the national leader in male sterilisation, female sterilisation remains over 17 times more common. Only three other states across India have male sterilisation over 1 per cent – Sikkim (1.8 per cent), Chhattisgarh (1.4) and Maharashtra (1.1). Haryana and Madhya Pradesh (0.9 per cent each) and Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh (0.8 per cent each) are almost touching 1 per cent. Even in states with the lowest female sterilisation rates, the prevalence remained substantially higher than that of male sterilisation. Only two states – Assam and Meghalaya (more than 7 per cent each) – have female sterilisation below 10 per cent. Four of the five states with the highest female sterilisation rates were in southern India. The highest female sterilisation was reported in Andhra Pradesh (69.5 per cent), followed by Telangana (62.5 per cent), Karnataka (57 per cent), and Tamil Nadu (57 per cent). Kerala (42.3 per cent) is among the top ten states with the highest female sterilisation. These southern states have achieved population stabilisation despite relatively low levels of male sterilisation. All five have TFRs below India’s average — Karnataka (1.8), Andhra Pradesh (1.8), Telangana (1.9), Tamil Nadu (1.7) and Kerala (1.8). Male sterilisation in these states is below 1 per cent, except in Telangana (3.6 per cent). In Karnataka, male sterilisation was 0 per cent in urban areas and 0.1 per cent in rural areas. The NFHS-6 was conducted in two phases – first between May 2023 and February 2024 and second from February 2024 to December 2024 covering 6.79 lakh households, interviewing 7.16 lakh women and over one lakh men. India’s TFR The TFR is the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime.
For zero population growth, the TFR should be at the replacement level fertility of 2.1 – where population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next. India’s TFR has fallen from 3.4 in NFHS-1 (1992-93) to 2.0 in NFHS-6, a decline of about 41 per cent over three decades. As of NFHS-6, only five states/UTs remain above replacement-level fertility (2.1) with Bihar topping the list at 2.7. Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Lakshadweep were the other states/UTs above replacement-level fertility, each with a TFR of 2.2. Further, Andaman & Nicobar Islands (0.9) was the only part of the country with TFR below one. Among bigger states, Assam (1.6) and Tamil Nadu (1.7) were at the bottom. State-level fertility changes Between NFHS-5 (2019-21) and NFHS-6 (2023-24) India’s TFR remains at 2.0 with the majority of states registering a decline or no change. Across seven states, the numbers remain constant while 13 states/union territories have registered a drop. In 16 states the TFR has increased between NFHS-5 and NFHS-6. Lakshadweep had reported the highest jump – from 1.4 in NFHS-5 to 2.2 in NFHS-6, followed by Jammu and Kashmir (from 1.4 to 1.8). In Goa, Nagaland and Ladakh, the increase is 0.3 points. Ten states/UTs reported a 0.1-point increase, including Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra. Punjab, West Bengal, Delhi and Kerala were among the states that reported no change in the TFR. The Rural-urban divide in population control While India’s TFR is 2.0, fertility remains substantially lower in urban areas (1.6) than in rural India (2.1). In effect, five urban women are expected to have eight children over their lifetimes, compared to 10.5 children among five rural women.
The rural-urban divide is highest in northeastern states – Meghalaya and Nagaland. While it is marginal in states including Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Kerala. Ladakh was the only part of the country where urban (1.7) TFR was higher than rural (1.6). Bihar is the only state where urban TFR remains above 2, at 2.1. Rural Bihar has a TFR of 2.8, the highest among states. Bihar continues to record the country’s highest fertility rate despite female sterilisation prevalence being above the national average. Three decades after India’s fertility rate began its steady decline, the country’s demographic story is increasingly one of population stabilisation. But NFHS-6 shows that the path to that milestone has been paved largely through women’s participation in permanent contraception rather than men’s. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Nivedita Singh Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She twe... Read More First Published: June 12, 2026, 10:32 IST News india India’s Fertility Rate Holds At 2.0, But Women Still Bear The Burden Of Population Control Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments...
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