15th September 2025 (15 Topics)

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Child Marriage Statistics

Context

West Bengal has the highest proportion of females married before 18 (6.3%) according to the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2023 report.

Key Statistics (SRS 2023):

National rate:1% of females married before 18.
State-wise highlights:
- West Bengal – 6.3% (highest)
- Jharkhand – 4.6%
- Kerala – 0.1% (lowest)
- Himachal Pradesh – 0.4%
- Haryana – 0.6%
Rural vs Urban Areas:
- Rural:
  - West Bengal – 5.8%
  - Jharkhand – 5.2%
- Urban:
  - West Bengal – 7.6%
  - Jammu & Kashmir – 3.5%
  - Odisha – 2.8%
Trends:
- West Bengal has consistently remained the highest in child marriages in recent SRS reports (6.5% in May 2025).
- Nationally, the rate is low (2.1%) indicating declining child marriage overall, but certain states remain high.

Legal and Policy Context:

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: Minimum legal age – 18 for females, 21 for males.
Government initiatives include Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Child Protection Services, and state-specific awareness campaigns.
High prevalence in some states signals implementation gaps and socio-cultural factors influencing early marriage.

Sample Registration System (SRS):

Introduction:

SRS is a large-scale demographic survey in India providing reliable estimates of fertility, mortality, and other vital statistics.
Implemented jointly by the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI) and State Governments.
Started in 1964–65 to supplement the Civil Registration System (CRS).

Objectives:

To provide annual estimates of birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate (IMR), and fertility indicators.
To monitor trends in population growth and demographic characteristics.
To provide data for policy-making, planning, and evaluation of health and social programmes.
Key Data Collected:
Fertility: Birth rates, total fertility rate (TFR), age-specific fertility rate (ASFR).
Mortality: Death rates, infant and child mortality, maternal mortality.
Other Indicators: Marriage patterns (including child marriage), sex ratio, life expectancy.

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Child Marriage Statistics