India, the most populous country in the world, asks women in its southern states to have more children

LETTER FROM NEW DELHI In Chennai (India), November 12, 2024. R.SATISH BABU / AFP “Have children! » The injection comes from two regional heads of government in India. A bit contradictory, in the most populous country in the world, with its 1.4 billion inhabitants and a median age of 28.7 years, compared to 38.4 years for China, which until 2023 was on the first top of the podium for the most populous states. Read the survey (2023) | Article reserved for our subscribers India, a new demographic power Read later Despite the youth of its citizens – those under 25 represent 40% of the population, those over 65 only 7% of the population – the Asian giant is starting to take the issue of aging seriously, at least part of the subcontinent. India’s total fertility rate, which is the average number of children a woman could have in her lifetime, fell to 1.9 in 2021, below the replacement level of 2.1 . It is even lower in the south of the country, where all states are facing a decline in the birth rate. Tamil Nadu, whose capital is Madras, breaks all records with the lowest fertility rate in India (1.4). It is followed by Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala (1.5) and Karnataka (1.6). States performing better on health During a wedding ceremony he attended, the head of government of Tamil Nadu, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, begged his fellow citizens to have children, like his counterpart from Andhra Pradesh, Nara Chandrababu Naidu. The latter, to counter the trend towards shrinking families, announced that he would introduce incentive or coercive measures. “We must act now,” he proclaimed, urging women to contribute to demographic balance. In August, the elected official had already abolished legislation which prohibited parents of more than two children from running for government positions or in local elections. The Northern States are much more fertile. Bihar has the highest fertility rate in the country (3), followed by Uttar Pradesh (2.7) and Madhya Pradesh (2.6). These differences are mainly explained by the level of development. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are among the poorest regions, with very poor social indicators. More than 33% of the population of Bihar experiences multidimensional poverty. Also read the report: Article reserved for our subscribers The forgotten India of the villages: “Sail is a remote place, very backward, very poor, which does not offer a future, but that is where I come » Read later The Southern States are, on the contrary, the best educated and the most efficient in terms of health. In these regions, couples often choose to have fewer children to better provide for the needs of their offspring and ensure them a good education. You have 55.54% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



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