Sex ratio increases, fertility dips in Delhi

The sex ratio in Delhi has shown an improvement with the city registering 868 females per 1,000 males in 2011 as compared to 861 women per 1,000 men in 2001.
According to the Primary Census Abstract 2011 released today, child sex ratio has also improved from 868 in 2001 to 871 in 2011.
Of the overall Delhi population, which grew by 21.2 per cent during 2001-11, the number of females rose by 24.9 per cent, while the male population grew at a lesser rate of 18.1 per cent.
Interestingly, sex ratio in Delhi in 1901 was 862, one more than 2001's standing of 861. So over a period of 110 years, it has crossed this figure for the first time in 2011 to reach 868.

According to available historical data, sex ratio in Delhi had plunged to below 800 females per 1,000 males during 1911 which bounced back only in 1971 when it again rose above the 800 mark. Since then it has been showing gradual increase.
However, ringing some alarm bells, the census revealed that TFR (Total Fertility Rate) in Delhi has declined from 2.2 in 1999 to 1.8 in 2011.
"We conduct SRS (Sample Registration Scheme) every six months to gauge vital statistics like Mortality Rate and Fertility Rate. The latest SRS revealed that TFR in Delhi in 2011 stood at 1.8 as against 2.2 in 1999," Census Operations (Delhi) Director Varsha Joshi said.

Also, child population (0-6) in NCT, which is recorded at 2,012,454 in 2011, is lower than the child population in 2001 by an absolute count of 4,395, the report said.