IMR is a key public health indicator defined as number of deaths of children per 1,000 live births under one year – the lower the number the better the health accessibility.
New Delhi: India’s Infant mortality rate (IMR) has dropped a record low of 25, a sharp fall of 37.5 per cent from 40 in 2013, according to the Sample Registration System report for 2023 issued by the Registrar General of India.
IMR is a key public health indicator defined as number of deaths of children per 1,000 live births under one year-the lower the number the better the health accessibility.
According to the SRS 2023 report, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest IMR at 37, while Manipur reported the lowest at 3. Kerala was the only large state with a single-digit IMR of 5, second only to Manipur.
The report shows a countrywide decline of IMR from 44 to 28 in rural areas. In in urban areas of the country the numbers dipped from 27 to 18. This marks decadal drops of about 36 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
The report also highlights steady declines in both birth and death rates over the decades.
Birth rate is a crude measure of fertility of a population and is a crucial determinant of population growth. It gives the number of live births per thousand population in a given region and year.
India’s birth rate has declined drastically over the last five decades, from 36.9 in 1971 to 18.4 in 2023. It fell 14% in the last decade alone — from 21.4 in 2013 to 18.4 in 2023. Rural areas reported a drop from 22.9 to 20.3, while urban areas fell from 17.3 to 14.9.
“The rural-urban differential has also narrowed over these years. However, the Birth Rate has continued to be higher in rural areas compared to urban areas in the last five decades,” it said.
Bihar reported the highest birth rate of 25.8 while Andaman and Nicobar islands was at the lowest with 10.1 in 2023.
The death rate has gradually declined over the last five decades from 14.9 in 1971 to 6.4 in 2023. In rural areas, it decreased from 7.2 in 2022 to 6.8 in 2023. In urban areas, it went down from 6.0 in 2022 to 5.7 in 2023.
Chandigarh reported the lowest death rate of 4 and Chhattisgarh the highest of 8.3, the report said.
“Mortality is one of the basic components of population change and the related data is essential for demographic studies and public health administration. The Death Rate is one of the simplest measures of mortality and is defined as the number of deaths per thousand population in a given region and time period,” the report said.
Source: PTI
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