India, the most populous country in the world, is having fewer children than needed to replace its population from one generation to the next.
India now puts the country’s fertility rate at 1.9 children per woman in 2024, below the roughly 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population over the long term without migration.
A recent report, published by India’s Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, found fertility remained considerably higher in rural areas, at 2.1, compared with 1.5 in cities.
The decline marks a major reversal for a country that spent decades trying to slow rapid population growth.
