Context

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR), an average number of children per woman, has further declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level between National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4 and 5.

About

Total fertility rate (TFR):

• According to MOSPI,Total fertility rate (TFR) is defined as the average number of children that would be born to a woman if she experiences the current fertility pattern throughout her reproductive span (15-49 years). 
• The fertility rate has declined across the majority of the states.
• All states MP, Rajasthan, UP, Jharkhand, Bihar, Manipur and Meghalaya have attained a replacement level of 2.1.

Reasons for demographic transition:

• Introduction of initiatives like contraception
• Government health and family welfare schemes
• Special emphasis on education of the girl child
• Exponential growth of institutional births
• Overall improvement in health and nutrition

Key highlights of the survey:

• There are only five States in India which are above replacement level of fertility of 2.1 - Bihar (2.98), Meghalaya (2.91), Uttar Pradesh (2.35), Jharkhand (2.26) Manipur (2.17), as per the national report of the NFHS-5.
• Institutional births have increased from 79% to 89% in India and in rural areas around 87% births being delivered in institutions and the same is 94% in urban areas.
• As per results of the NFHS-5, more than three-fourths (77%) children age 12-23 months were fully immunised, compared with 62% in NFHS-4.
• The level of stunting among children under five years has marginally declined from 38% to 36% in the country since the last four years.
• Stunting is higher among children in rural areas (37%) than urban areas (30%) in 2019-21.
• NFHS-5 shows an overall improvement in Sustainable Development Goals indicators in all States/Union Territories (UTs).
• The extent to which married women usually participate in three household decisions (about health care for herself; making major household purchases; visit to her family or relatives) 
• Participation in decision-making is high, ranging from 80% in Ladakh to 99% in Nagaland and Mizoram.
• Rural (77%) and urban (81%) differences are found to be marginal.
• The prevalence of women having a bank or savings account that they use has increased from 53% to 79% in the last four years.
• Compared with NFHS-4, the prevalence of overweight or obesity has increased in most States/UTs in NFHS-5.
• At the national level, it increased from 21% to 24% among women and 19% to 23% among men.