To express the sex composition, the sex ratio is utilized as a measure. In the context of India, the sex ratio is defined as the "number of females per 1,000 males in the population."
When the sex ratio is 1,000, it signifies an equal proportion of males and females. Ratios exceeding 1,000 indicate a surplus of females, while ratios below 1,000 indicate a shortage of females.
Temporal Distribution-
- The sex ratio at the beginning of the twentieth century was 972, and it showed a continuous decline until 1941.
- In 1951, there was a marginal increase of one point in the sex ratio.
- From 1961 to 1971, there was a sharp decline of 11 points in the sex ratio, dropping from 941 to 930.
- In 1981, there was a slight improvement of 4 points, but it could not be maintained, and there was a fall of 7 points from 934 in 1981 to 927 in 1991.
- The sex ratio increased by six points from 927 in 1991 to 933 in 2001.
- In 2011, there was a further increase of seven points, making the sex ratio 940.
- The sex ratio of population in the country in 2011 stands at 940 female against 1000 males, which is 10 per cent more than the last census when the number female per thousand male stood at 933.
- Sex ratio in India is substantially low as compared to Russian Federation (1,167), Japan (1.055), Brazil (1.042), the USA (1,025), Nigeria (1,016) and Indonesia (988).
- The world sex ratio declined from 986 in 2001 to 984 in 2011.
Following are some important factors responsible for low and declining sex ratio.
- Males receiving preferential treatment and females being neglected contribute to a low sex ratio.
- The historical practice of female infanticide and the current prevalence of female foeticide have further exacerbated the issue.
- The adoption of small family norms has led to couples opting for only one child, particularly if the first child is a male.
- The increasing number of dowry deaths in recent years may also have an impact on the sex ratio, although accurate data is required to establish a direct correlation.
State Level Patterns of Sex Ratio
- Haryana has the lowest male-female ratio among all states, while Kerala has the highest.
- In 2011, Haryana had 879 females per 1000 males, followed by Jammu and Kashmir (889 females) and Punjab (895 females).
- Uttar Pradesh (912 females) and Bihar (918 females) are also among the states with the lowest sex ratios.
- Kerala (1,084 females), Tamil Nadu (996), Andhra Pradesh (993), Chhattisgarh (991), and Odisha (979) are the top-performing states in terms of sex ratio.
Child Sex Ratio
- The Child Sex Ratio is a measure that indicates the number of females per 1000 males in the age group of 0-6 years.
- According to the census of 2001, the child sex ratio in India was recorded as 927, which further declined to 918 in the census of 2011.
- Among the Indian states, Arunachal Pradesh has the highest child sex ratio with 972 females per thousand males, while Haryana has the lowest child sex ratio with 834 females per thousand males, as per the census of 2011.
- In terms of Union Territories, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have the highest child sex ratio, which is 968 females per thousand males.
Literacy
- Literacy is a prerequisite for education and plays a crucial role in societal development.
- The Population Commission of the United Nations defines a literate person as someone who can read and write a simple message with understanding in any language.
- The Census of India has adopted a similar definition, stating that a person aged seven and above who can both read and write with understanding is considered literate.
- In previous censuses, children below five years of age were not classified as literate. However, since 1991, the age limit for literacy has been raised to seven years, as experts believe that reading and writing skills with understanding are typically achieved by that age.
- The 2001 and 2011 censuses have also maintained the same criterion, treating children between the ages of 0-6 as illiterate and classifying individuals aged seven and above as literate or illiterate.
- It's important to note that being literate does not necessarily require formal education or a specific educational standard.
Literacy Rate-Definition
- In previous Censuses prior to 1981, the literacy rate was calculated by considering the total population.
- However, it was realized that the literacy rate is more meaningful when excluding the sub-population in the age group 0-6.
- Therefore, starting from 1991, the literacy rate is calculated for the population aged seven years and above.
- This approach has been consistently followed in all Censuses conducted since 1991.
Crude literacy rate
- The literacy rate taking into account the total population in the denominator has now been termed as 'crude literacy rate',
Effective literacy rate
- The literacy rate calculated taking into account the 7 and above population in the denominator is called the effective literacy rate.
Literacy Rate-Trends
- According to the Census 2011, the effective literacy rate in India is 74.04%.
- The literacy rate for males is 82.14%, while for females, it is 65.46%.
- Approximately three-fourths of the population aged 7 years and above in the country is literate.
- Over the period of 2001-2011, India witnessed a significant improvement in the literacy rate, with a jump of 9.21 percentage points.
- The increase in literacy rates was 6.88 percentage points for males and 11.79 percentage points for females.
- A positive development observed during the decade was the reduction in the gap between male and female literacy rates. The gap decreased from 21.59 percentage points in 2001 to 16.68 percentage points in 2011.
Overall Effective Literacy Rate
- Kerala has the highest literacy rate in the country at 93.91%, followed closely by Lakshadweep (92.28%) and Mizoram (91.58%).
- Bihar ranks last in terms of literacy rate with 63.82%, preceded by Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.
- The bottom five states and UTs in terms of literacy rate are Bihar (61.8%), Arunachal Pradesh (65.4%), Rajasthan (66.1%), Jharkhand (66.4%), and Andhra Pradesh (67%).
- The states and union territories with literacy rates below the national average for all three categories (persons, males, and females) are Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana), Bihar, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
Male Effective Literacy Rate
- Lakshadweep has the highest male literacy rate in the country, standing at 96.11 percent.
- Kerala ranks second with a male literacy rate of 96.02 percent.
- Bihar has the lowest male literacy rate, recorded at 73.39 percent.
- Arunachal Pradesh precedes Bihar with a male literacy rate of 73.69 percent.
Female Effective Literacy Rate
- Kerala holds the first rank in the country in female literacy with 91.98 per cent.
- Rajasthan (52.66 per cent) has recorded the lowest female literacy rate preceded by Bihar (53.33 per cent).
Effective Literacy Rate-Gender Gap
- At the National level, the male-female gap for Census 2001 stood at 21 59 whereas for Census 2011 it is only 16.68.