North-south fertility divide
Topic: Population of India: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The north-south fertility divide is the gap in TFR (average number of children per woman) between India's regions. The southern states, along with West Bengal, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, fell below the replacement level (TFR under 2.1) long ago. Several northern and eastern states are still above it. The causes are differences in female literacy, age at marriage, health systems, women's freedom to decide, and urbanisation. The divide matters because workers move from north to south, and the south is ageing faster. It also feeds political debates over Lok Sabha seats and Finance Commission transfers.
Example
In NFHS-5 (2019-21), Bihar in the middle Ganga plain still had a TFR of 3.0. Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand were also above 2.1 (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- Regional variation in population growth: that compares growth rates between censuses. The fertility divide compares children per woman.
Related concepts
- Regional variation in population growth
- National Population Policy 2000
- Infant mortality rate
- Maternal mortality ratio