--- title: "Sex Ratio in India 2026: Census Data, State-wise Trends and Causes" url: https://anantamias.com/sex-ratio-in-india/ date: 2026-04-22 modified: 2026-04-22 author: "Gaurav Tiwari" description: "Sex ratio in India: Census 2011 data, state-wise trends, child sex ratio, causes of decline, and government schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao for UPSC." categories: - "Current affairs" image: https://r2.anantamias.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/sex-ratio-in-india-featured-1024x576.jpg word_count: 2498 --- # Sex Ratio in India 2026: Census Data, State-wise Trends and Causes ## Introduction The sex ratio in India is one of the most revealing social indicators the country produces. Defined by the Office of the Registrar General of India as the number of females per 1,000 males, it functions as a demographic mirror for attitudes towards women, access to healthcare, economic security in old age, and the historical weight of son preference. For the UPSC aspirant, this single number opens a window onto Paper I social issues, Paper II welfare schemes, Paper III economic inclusion, and Paper IV ethics around gender justice. India's overall sex ratio improved from 933 in Census 2001 to 940 in Census 2011, the best figure recorded since 1961. The Sample Registration System and National Family Health Survey rounds that followed have suggested further gains, with NFHS-5 (2019-21) reporting an adult sex ratio of 1,020 females per 1,000 males and a sex ratio at birth of 929. Yet the child sex ratio (0-6 years) declined from 927 in 2001 to 919 in 2011, signalling that gains at the population level mask a continuing crisis in the earliest years of life. This article unpacks the data, the drivers, the state-wise picture and the policy response. ![Sex Ratio in India 2026: Census Data, State-wise Trends and Causes](https://r2.anantamias.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/sex-ratio-in-india-content-1.png) ## Quick Facts at a Glance | Indicator | Value | Source | | --------- | ----- | ------ | | Overall sex ratio (Census 2011) | 940 females per 1,000 males | Registrar General of India | | Child sex ratio 0-6 years (Census 2011) | 919 | Registrar General of India | | Sex ratio at birth (NFHS-5, 2019-21) | 929 | MoHFW | | Highest state sex ratio (2011) | Kerala, 1,084 | Census 2011 | | Lowest state sex ratio (2011) | Haryana, 879 | Census 2011 | | Union Territory with lowest ratio (2011) | Daman and Diu, 618 | Census 2011 | | Flagship scheme | Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, launched 22 January 2015 | Ministry of Women and Child Development | | Key law | Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 | MoHFW | ## Background and Historical Context India's demographic sex ratio has been tracked through every decennial census since 1881. The figure that year stood at 954 females per 1,000 males. Apart from a brief uptick in 1951 the ratio declined almost monotonically through the twentieth century, hitting a low of 927 in 1991. The 2001 figure of 933 and the 2011 figure of 940 marked a partial recovery driven largely by improvements in female life expectancy, better maternal healthcare and reduced female mortality in the older age cohorts. The deeper story, however, lies in the child sex ratio. In 1961 the 0-6 ratio was 976, almost at biological par. By 1981 it had slipped to 962, by 1991 to 945, by 2001 to 927 and by 2011 to 919. This steep fall coincided with two developments. First, the diffusion of ultrasonography from the mid-1980s made prenatal sex determination cheap and widely available. Second, fertility rates fell sharply, raising the stakes of each birth for families that placed economic and social value on sons. The combination produced what demographer Monica Das Gupta called the "emboldened" preference: fewer children but a harder insistence that at least one be male. Parliament responded with the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act in 1994, strengthened in 2003 as the PCPNDT Act to cover preconception techniques. Enforcement has been uneven. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that between 1990 and 2018 India had roughly 45.8 million "missing women" in the 0-6 age group when measured against a natural sex ratio at birth of 952. The policy challenge is therefore both legal, to curb sex-selective abortion, and cultural, to raise the social value of the girl child. ## Key Features of the Indian Sex Ratio ### Overall Sex Ratio The **overall sex ratio** measures females per 1,000 males across the entire population. Census 2011 pegged this at 940, an improvement of seven points over 2001. Rural India registered 949, urban India 929. The urban deficit reflects male-dominated labour migration to cities rather than a worse gender situation in towns. NFHS-5 data, which counts only usual residents, actually reported a female-surplus national ratio of 1,020, consistent with the global pattern that women live longer than men once healthcare access equalises. ### Child Sex Ratio The **child sex ratio** (CSR) counts females per 1,000 males in the 0-6 age bracket. At 919 in Census 2011 it was the worst since the metric was first captured in 1961. Because the CSR is barely influenced by differential mortality at older ages, it is the cleanest proxy for prenatal and early-life discrimination. Haryana (834), Punjab (846), Jammu and Kashmir (862) and Delhi (871) posted the lowest CSRs, while Mizoram (971), Meghalaya (970) and Chhattisgarh (969) topped the list. ### Sex Ratio at Birth The **sex ratio at birth** (SRB) is produced annually by the Sample Registration System. The biological norm is around 952 females per 1,000 male births. India's SRB stood at 896 in SRS 2013-15, improved to 904 in SRS 2017-19 and reached 929 in NFHS-5. Every point above 900 represents meaningful progress, but the country is still below the natural benchmark, indicating residual sex-selective abortion. ### Rural-Urban and Regional Divergence Southern and north-eastern states consistently post better ratios. **Kerala** at 1,084 is the only state with a female-majority population at the 2011 census; Puducherry at 1,037 is the only Union Territory in that bracket. The north-western agrarian belt of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, western Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat records the sharpest deficits, a cluster often labelled the "son-preference corridor" in the demographic literature. ![Sex Ratio in India 2026: Census Data, State-wise Trends and Causes](https://r2.anantamias.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/sex-ratio-in-india-content-2.png) ## Significance for UPSC and General Knowledge - Direct GS1 syllabus hit on "role of women and women's organisation, population and associated issues" - Cross-loads into GS2 questions on welfare schemes, PCPNDT enforcement and judicial activism - Provides quantitative anchor for essays on gender, development and ethics - Underpins Economic Survey discussions of human capital and the demographic dividend - Frequently tested in Prelims through Census vintages and state-wise extremes - Connects with Sustainable Development Goals 3, 5 and 10, a recurring Mains theme ## Detailed Analysis: State-wise Distribution State-level variation is the most instructive way to read the Indian sex ratio. Kerala's 1,084 reflects a century of investment in female literacy, matrilineal inheritance traditions in certain communities, low fertility and high male out-migration to the Gulf. Puducherry (1,037) and Tamil Nadu (996) follow a broadly similar southern pattern of higher female survival backed by strong public health systems. Andhra Pradesh (993), Chhattisgarh (991), Manipur (985) and Meghalaya (989) also post ratios close to or above 985. At the other extreme, **Haryana** (879) has long served as the cautionary case, the state where Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was launched precisely because Panipat, Jhajjar and Mahendragarh districts had CSRs in the low 800s. Punjab (895), Jammu and Kashmir (889) and National Capital Territory Delhi (868) complete the bottom cluster of major jurisdictions. Within Delhi, the South West district recorded a CSR of 840 at the 2011 census. A useful prelims-ready pairing is the Union Territory extremes. Daman and Diu at 618 and Dadra and Nagar Haveli at 775 have the worst ratios in India, but these figures are distorted by a large male migrant workforce in their industrial clusters rather than by female deficit at birth. Removing migrant workers would place their native-resident ratios much closer to the national average. The north-eastern hill states stand out for a different reason. Matrilineal kinship among the Khasi and Garo of Meghalaya, bilateral inheritance in Mizoram and broad female participation in markets across Nagaland have produced CSRs above 960 without the kind of aggressive state intervention seen in Haryana. Together these contrasts show that the sex ratio is a cultural variable, shaped by kinship, dowry, landholding and labour patterns, and not merely a medical one. | State / UT | Overall Sex Ratio (2011) | Child Sex Ratio 0-6 (2011) | | ---------- | ------------------------ | -------------------------- | | Kerala | 1,084 | 964 | | Puducherry | 1,037 | 967 | | Tamil Nadu | 996 | 943 | | All-India | 940 | 919 | | Gujarat | 919 | 890 | | Uttar Pradesh | 912 | 902 | | Punjab | 895 | 846 | | Haryana | 879 | 834 | ![Sex Ratio in India 2026: Census Data, State-wise Trends and Causes](https://r2.anantamias.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/wiki-img-4.png)Image: Wikipedia. [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_union_territories_of_India_by_sex_ratio). ## Comparative Perspective India's overall sex ratio of 940 is below the world average of roughly 984. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs places the global sex ratio at birth near 1,060 males per 1,000 females, or an SRB of about 943 females per 1,000 male births when inverted. India's SRB thus clusters with countries that have documented sex-selective practices, notably China, Vietnam and Azerbaijan. Contrast this with Russia, Japan and most of western Europe, where population-level ratios exceed 1,000 because of longer female life expectancy and historical male wartime mortality. Within Asia, the comparison with China is instructive. China's one-child policy between 1980 and 2015 drove its SRB to 117 males per 100 females at peak, worse than any Indian figure. Since the policy was relaxed and a concerted media campaign was mounted, the Chinese SRB has trended back towards 110. India, with a two-child soft norm in some states, has followed a less extreme but stubborn trajectory. South Korea offers the hopeful case: its SRB crossed 115 in 1990 then fell back to 105 by 2014, showing that cultural preferences can shift within a generation once female education and labour force participation rise. | Country | Sex Ratio at Birth (most recent) | Overall Sex Ratio | | ------- | -------------------------------- | ----------------- | | India | 929 (NFHS-5) | 940 (Census 2011) | | China | 909 (2020 census) | 945 | | Vietnam | 893 (2021) | 996 | | South Korea | 952 (2022) | 1,003 | | World average | 943 | 984 | ## Challenges and Criticisms Critics argue that the government response has often been loud on messaging but weak on enforcement. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao has been faulted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Empowerment of Women for spending more than half its budget on media campaigns rather than on direct service delivery. Conviction rates under the PCPNDT Act remain low, with the Ministry of Health reporting only a few hundred convictions against tens of thousands of registered clinics. State-level monitoring committees, which the Act mandates, frequently fail to meet quarterly. A second critique is measurement. Census 2021 has been delayed, meaning the country is operating on 2011-vintage data for state-level sex ratios in 2026. The Sample Registration System provides annual SRB figures but cannot substitute for enumerated district and village data. Civil society groups have flagged that districts once considered "improved" may have quietly slipped, especially where ultrasonography has moved into unregistered clinics. Finally, economists such as Bina Agarwal have argued that the root issue is women's weak claim on property and old-age security; unless inheritance, dowry and elder-care reform advances, prenatal sex selection will persist regardless of scheme design. ## Prelims Pointers - Census 2011 overall sex ratio: 940 - Census 2011 child sex ratio (0-6): 919 - Highest state ratio 2011: Kerala at 1,084 - Lowest state ratio 2011: Haryana at 879 - Lowest UT ratio 2011: Daman and Diu at 618 - Only UT above 1,000: Puducherry at 1,037 - PCPNDT Act passed in 1994, amended in 2003 - Beti Bachao Beti Padhao launched on 22 January 2015 in Panipat, Haryana - NFHS-5 overall sex ratio: 1,020 (usual resident basis) - NFHS-5 sex ratio at birth: 929 - Biological norm SRB: around 952 females per 1,000 male births - Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana launched alongside BBBP as a savings incentive ## Mains Practice Questions **Q1. The declining child sex ratio in India is a social, legal and economic problem. Examine the causes and evaluate the effectiveness of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. (15 marks, 250 words)** - Identify causes: entrenched son preference, dowry economics, agricultural land inheritance, misuse of ultrasonography - Map BBBP architecture: multi-sectoral district action plans, PCPNDT enforcement, media campaigns, Sukanya Samriddhi linkage - Evaluate outcomes: SRB improvement in target districts vs Standing Committee critique on media-heavy spending and weak convictions **Q2. "India's demographic dividend is incomplete without gender balance." Discuss in the context of state-wise variation in sex ratios. (10 marks, 150 words)** - Establish the dividend concept and the role of female labour force participation - Contrast southern and north-eastern achievers with the north-western deficit cluster - Propose integrated reform: property rights, social security, education, enforcement ## Conclusion The sex ratio in India is at once a simple statistic and a dense social text. It records the relative survival of women against men, but the deeper story it tells is about kinship, inheritance, old-age security and the distribution of economic risk within the household. The improvement from 933 in 2001 to 940 in 2011 and the NFHS-5 gains at birth show that focused policy plus economic modernisation can move the needle. Yet the child sex ratio of 919 and the continuing gap between Haryana and Kerala demonstrate how much remains to be done. For UPSC aspirants, the sex ratio is a versatile analytical tool. It anchors essays on gender, it sharpens answers on population policy, it offers a testable set of figures for Prelims and it connects to the ethical questions of Paper IV. Mastering the numbers, the causes and the policy response equips a candidate to write with both precision and humane perspective on one of India's most persistent development challenges. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the sex ratio in India? The sex ratio in India is the number of females per 1,000 males. Census 2011 recorded an overall ratio of 940 and a child sex ratio of 919 for the 0-6 age group. NFHS-5 (2019-21), using usual residents, reported a higher ratio of 1,020 and a sex ratio at birth of 929. ### Why is the sex ratio important for UPSC? The sex ratio is a direct GS1 syllabus topic under population and gender. It also feeds into GS2 welfare schemes, GS3 human capital discussions and Paper IV ethics. Prelims regularly tests Census vintages and extreme states like Kerala and Haryana, making it one of the highest-yield data points in the social issues section. ### How is the sex ratio related to the PCPNDT Act? The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 (amended 2003), criminalises prenatal sex determination to prevent sex-selective abortion, a key driver of the declining child sex ratio. Enforcement remains weak but the law is the primary legal lever cited alongside sex-ratio data in policy debates and UPSC answers. ### Which state has the highest sex ratio in India? Kerala has the highest state sex ratio at 1,084 females per 1,000 males according to Census 2011, the only state with a female-majority population. Puducherry (1,037) leads among Union Territories. The southern and north-eastern pattern of better ratios reflects higher female literacy, healthcare access and, in some cases, matrilineal kinship traditions. ### Which state has the lowest sex ratio in India? Haryana recorded the lowest state sex ratio at 879 and the worst child sex ratio at 834 in Census 2011. The north-western agrarian belt including Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan forms the so-called son-preference corridor, shaped by landholding patterns, dowry and weak female inheritance claims. ### What is the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme? Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was launched on 22 January 2015 in Panipat, Haryana, by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It targets districts with low child sex ratios through PCPNDT enforcement, mass communication campaigns and girl-child education. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, a small-savings scheme, operates alongside it as a financial incentive. ### What causes the declining sex ratio in India? The main drivers are entrenched son preference, dowry expectations, patrilineal land inheritance, weak old-age security that makes sons seem economically essential, and the spread of ultrasonography enabling sex-selective abortion. Falling fertility has raised the stakes of each birth, sharpening pressure on families to produce a male heir. ### What is the biological normal sex ratio at birth? The globally accepted biological norm is around 952 females per 1,000 male births, or roughly 105 males per 100 females. India's sex ratio at birth of 929 in NFHS-5 is below this benchmark, indicating residual sex-selective abortion despite improvements over the 896 recorded in SRS 2013-15.