Sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species d ...

is used to describe the ratio of females to males in a population. In India, the sex ratio has been estimated via a number of methods and data sets including the decennial censuses, the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS), the Civil Registration System, the Sample Registration System and the Health Management Information System. In 2014, the ratio of female births per 1000 male births varied from 887 to 918 using these estimates. According to the NFHS-4 (2015–16) sex ratio of the total population (females per 1,000 males) was 991 (with an urban ratio of 956 and a rural ratio of 1,009). In 2011–2013, it was revealed through a population census with the Sample Registration System (SRS) that the sex ratio of India was 909 females per 1000 of males. It has skewed downwards from then, recording 900 females in 2013–2015 and 896 in 2015–17 per 1000 of males. Furthermore, that survey conducted with the SRS also showed Chhattisgarh as the highest sex ratio at 961, while

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

was recorded the lowest at 831. However, sex ratio have moved into a positive direction. According to recent survey by National Family Health Survey (NFHS), there are 1020 women for 1000 men in India as per December 2021. The male-skew in India's sex ratio has increased since the early 20th century. In 1901 there were 3.2 million fewer women than men in India, but by the 2001 Census the disparity had increased by more than a factor of 10, to 35 million. This increase has been variously attributed to

female infanticide Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. In countries with a history of female infanticide, the modern practice of gender-selective abortion is often discussed as a closely related issue. Female infanticide is a m ...

, selective abortions (aided by increasing access to prenatal sex discernment procedures), and female child neglect. It has been suggested that the motivation for this selection against female children is due to the lower status and perceived usefulness of women in India's patriarchal society. However, sex ratio have moved into a positive direction. According to recent survey by National Family Health Survey (NFHS), there are 1020 women for 1000 men in India as per November 2021.

Ranking of states and union territories

In the table below, the rank numbers represented by 'S' are for states while 'UT' are for union territories. The data in the table is based on the population census of 2001 and 2011. ;Notes:

References

;Bibliography *

Ranking of states and union territories

See also

References

Further reading