Statsguru: New insights into the way Indians live found in NFHS edition

Women on average get more education, have fewer children, and live longer in the decades since the first National Family Health Survey (NFHS).

The report, which first appeared in 1992-93 and whose latest edition came for 2019-21, provides data not just on the lives and health of women but also of the average Indian. Many aspects have changed significantly, while others remain much the same between different rounds.

The median Indian gets less than eight years of schooling, as per the 2019-21 report. Women get less than five (chart 1). However, this is better than the 1992-93 median schooling of zero years for girls. The median is the middle value in a set of numbers and is considered more representative of some data sets than the mean.

Indians typically get married in their twenties with a difference of around five years between men and the women. Women get married by the age 20, and men by 25 (chart 2).

Nuclear families are the norm, accounting for the majority of households, according to the NFHS survey. It accounted for 58.2 per cent of the total households in 2019-21. The figure has been at similar levels for some time (chart 3). Some have suggested that the growth of other kinds of families, for example, households without a spouse but other relations, could have kept the number subdued.

The number of children that Indians have is now below the replacement rate of 2.1 per woman. This is the level at which the population remains stable. The number of children per woman is now at 2 (chart 4).

Indians have increased their purchase of durables, including vehicles. Nearly half of households own a two-wheeler compared to less than 10 per cent that own a car (chart 5). Cars were even rarer in 1992-93 when only around one out of 100 households had one.

Life expectancy from the Reserve Bank of India’s annual statistics is used here for periods close to the NFHS rounds. The average Indian lives 8.3 additional years now compared to when the survey began (chart 6).

StatsGuru is a weekly feature. Every Monday, Business Standard guides you through the numbers you need to know to make sense of the headlines.