New Delhi: Over 200,000 fewer births were registered in 2023 in India than in 2022, a decline of around a percent. While a marginal decline, this was the third time in the five years up to 2023 that birth registrations declined in India, the other two years being 2020 and 2021. On the other hand, registration of deaths in the year increased by just 9,749 over 2022 or 0.1%, as waves of Covid-19 pandemic came to an end.
These numbers were published on Friday by the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI), which works under the ministry of home affairs, in the Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System (CRS) report for 2023. The CRS report records all registered births and deaths in the country.
While not all births and deaths are registered, the numbers from the 2023 report are in line with the survey-based estimates for 2023 published in the Sample Registration System (SRS) report on September 3. The SRS report showed that India’s birth and death rates declined in 2023 compared to 2022, same as the CRS report suggests.
According to the CRS report, 25.2 million births were registered in 2023. This is 232,094 or 0.9% fewer birth registrations than in 2022. On the other hand, deaths increased but only marginally. 8.7 million deaths were registered in 2023, up only 9,749 or 0.1% from 2022.
To be sure, while at least death registrations remaining stagnant is good news after the deadly years of the pandemic, the CRS report does show one adverse trend in both births and deaths. Institutional births were 74.7%, down 75.5% from 2022 and still lower than the over 80% levels seen in the years just preceding the pandemic. On the other hand, the proportion of deaths without medical attention increased from 50.7% in 2022 to 53.4% in 2023. This number was under 40% in the years preceding the pandemic.
{{/usCountry}}To be sure, while at least death registrations remaining stagnant is good news after the deadly years of the pandemic, the CRS report does show one adverse trend in both births and deaths. Institutional births were 74.7%, down 75.5% from 2022 and still lower than the over 80% levels seen in the years just preceding the pandemic. On the other hand, the proportion of deaths without medical attention increased from 50.7% in 2022 to 53.4% in 2023. This number was under 40% in the years preceding the pandemic.
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