1. India’s population is estimated at 144 crore, with 24% in the 0-14 age bracket.
2. The UNFPA report is titled “Interwoven Lives, Threads of Hope: Ending Inequalities in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.”
3. The report projects India’s population will double in 77 years.
New Delhi, July 11: India’s population is estimated to have reached 144 crore, with 24 percent in the 0-14 age bracket, according to a recent report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The report, titled “Interwoven Lives, Threads of Hope: Ending Inequalities in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights,” projects that India’s population will double in 77 years.
Leading Global Population Growth
The report highlights that India now leads globally with an estimated population of 144.17 crore, surpassing China at 142.5 crore. The last census in India, conducted in 2011, recorded a population of 121 crore.
Detailed Demographic Breakdown
According to the report, 24 percent of India’s population is aged 0-14, 17 percent falls within the 10-19 age range, and 26 percent is aged 10-24. The 15-64 age group constitutes 68 percent of the population, while 7 percent are aged 65 years and above. The life expectancy for men is 71 years and for women, 74 years.
Progress and Challenges in Sexual and Reproductive Health
The UNFPA report notes that 30 years of progress in sexual and reproductive health has largely ignored the most marginalized communities. Child marriage in India was at 23 percent between 2006-2023.
Maternal deaths have significantly decreased, accounting for 8 percent of global maternal fatalities. This success is attributed to improved access to affordable, quality maternal health services and efforts to address gender discrimination.
Persistent Inequities in Maternal Health
Despite progress, the report highlights dramatic inequities in maternal death risk. Research into India’s 640 districts reveals that while nearly a third have achieved the sustainable development goal of reducing the maternal mortality ratio below 70 per 100,000 live births, 114 districts still have ratios of 210 or more.
Also Read: Arunachal: Bopai Puroik Appointed as First Deputy Commissioner from Puroik Community
The highest ratio, 1,671 per 100,000 births, is seen in the Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, which has a high proportion of indigenous peoples.
Socioeconomic status, ethnicity, caste, and religion play significant roles in these health outcomes.
Vulnerability of Marginalized Women
The report notes that women with disabilities are up to 10 times more likely to experience gender-based violence than their peers without disabilities.
Improvements in healthcare access have primarily benefited wealthier women and those from ethnic groups with better pre-existing access to health services.
In contrast, women and girls with disabilities, migrants, refugees, ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people living with HIV, and disadvantaged castes face greater sexual and reproductive health risks and unequal access to care.
Impact of Broader Societal Issues
The vulnerabilities of marginalized women are compounded by factors such as climate change, humanitarian crises, and mass migration, which disproportionately impact women at the margins of society.
In India, Dalit activists have called for legal protections against caste-based discrimination in workplaces and education. The report highlights that many Dalit women receive no antenatal care and face high rates of gender-based violence as tools of oppression and control.
Stalled Progress on Key Measures
The report underscores that millions of women and girls remain significantly disadvantaged, with progress stalling on key measures.
For instance, 800 women die daily from childbirth-related causes, a figure unchanged since 2016. Additionally, a quarter of women cannot refuse sex with their partner, and nearly one in ten cannot make their own decisions about contraception.
In 40 percent of countries with data, women’s bodily autonomy is diminishing.
Call for Sustained Investment and Global Solidarity
UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem emphasizes the progress made over a generation, including reducing the unintended pregnancy rate by nearly one-fifth, lowering the maternal death rate by one-third, and securing domestic violence laws in more than 160 countries.
However, she stresses that inequalities within societies and health systems are widening, and the priority must be on reaching those furthest behind.
“Our work is incomplete but not impossible with sustained investment and global solidarity,” she concludes.
