Why in the news?
- Registrar-General of India (RGI) published Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System (CRS) and the report did not include Sikkim.
Vital Statistics of India
- National Statistics:
- India registered 2.52 crore births in 2023, which is about 2.32 lakh fewer than in 2022 (2.54 crore).
- Deaths registered stood at 86.6 lakh in 2023, a marginal rise from 86.5 lakh in 2022.
- Overall birth registration coverage was 98.4%, showing near-universal coverage.
- Institutional births accounted for 74.7% of total registered births, indicating the strengthening of maternal and child health systems.
- Death Trends (2020–2023):
- In 2020, India recorded 81.2 lakh deaths.
- In 2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, deaths rose sharply to 102.2 lakh, indicating an excess of about 21 lakh deaths compared to 2020.
- In 2022 and 2023, the number of deaths stabilized, with no major spike, despite the official COVID-19 toll reported by the Health Ministry as 5.33 lakh deaths (as of May 2025).
- The data suggests that mortality patterns normalized after the pandemic shock of 2021.
- Sex Ratio at Birth:
- The lowest sex ratios at birth were recorded in Jharkhand (899), Bihar (900), Telangana (906), Maharashtra (909), Gujarat (910), Haryana (911), and Mizoram (911).
- Bihar has continued to record the lowest sex ratio since 2020.
- The highest sex ratios were seen in Arunachal Pradesh (1,085), Nagaland (1,007), Goa (973), Ladakh and Tripura (972 each), and Kerala (967).
- The data reveals significant regional disparities and highlights the north–south divide in gender balance at birth.
- Timely Registration (within 21 days):
- States/UTs with over 90% timely registration: Gujarat, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, and Punjab.
- States with 80–90% timely registration: Odisha, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh.
- States with 50–80% timely registration: Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Uttar Pradesh.