Sharp decline in child sex ratio in Andhra Pradesh

The child sex ratio in Andhra Pradesh has come down alarmingly to 939 as per 2011 census, from 961 in 2001, indicating the continuing preference for boys.

The overall sex ratio, however, has gone up from 978 in 2001 to 993 in the 2011 census.

Sex ratio is the number of females for every 1,000 males.

According to the primary census abstract for the state released here Friday, the child sex ratio, despite the decline, is better than the national average of 919.

The state also fares better in child sex ratio in urban and rural areas, as compared to the national average.

In rural areas, it is 941 against the national average of 923, and in urban areas 935 against national ratio of 905.

Y.V. Anuradha, director of census operations, Andhra Pradesh, said in rural areas all the 23 districts registered declining child sex ratio.

In urban areas, 21 districts registered declining child sex ratio and two districts (Nizamabad and Medak) registered increased sex ratio.

The child sex ratio is highest in East Godavari district (968) and lowest in Hyderabad district (914).

Among "mandals" or blocks, the child sex ratio is the highest in Venkatarapuram (1,047) in Khammam district, followed by Gangavaram (1,043) in East Godavari district; the lowest child sex ratio is found in Nagalanka (780) preceded by Avanigadda (787) in Krishna district.

The data also revealed that the proportion of the child population (0-6 years) to the total population of the state has declined from 13.35 in 2001 to 10.81 percent in 2011. All the districts have shown this decline.

The proportion of the child population is recorded as 10.92 percent in rural areas and 10.60 percent in urban areas.

The overall sex ratio in the state is 993 against 943 at the national level. The sex ratio in rural areas of the state is 996 in the 2011 census, as against 984 in 2001, whereas in urban areas, it is recorded as 987 in 2011 census as against 965 in the 2001 census.

Among the districts, the highest sex ratio is recorded in Nizamabad district, with 1,040, and the lowest is recorded in Hyderabad district, with 954.

At mandal level the highest sex ratio is found in Sarangapur (1129) in Adilabad district followed by Kunavaram (1125) in Khammam district and the lowest sex ratio in Srisailam (882) in Kurnool district preceded by Jinnaram (889) in Medak district.

The total population o the state as per 2011 census is 8,45,80,777 of which rural population accounts for 5,63,61,702 (66.64 percent) and urban population accounts for 2,82,19,075 (33.36 percent). The urban population is slightly higher than the national average of 31.15 percent.

The proportion of urban population in the state has increased from 30.80 percent in 2001 to 33.36 percent in 2011. Of the total population 4,24,42,146 (50.18 percent) are males and 4,21,38,631 (49.82 percent) are females.

The maximum population at district level is found in Ranga Reddy (52,96,741) followed by East Godavari (51,54,296). Minimum population is found in Vizianagaram (23,44,474) preceded by Nizamabad (25,51,335).

Among the million plus cities, the population of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is 67,31,790, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) 17,28,128 and Vijayawada Municipal Corporation 10,34,358

The decadal growth rate of population for the state is 10.98 and the highest decadal growth rate among the districts is found in Ranga Reddy (48.16) followed by Mahabubnagar (15.34) and the lowest decadal growth rate is found in Hyderabad (2.97) preceded by West Godavari (3.51)

In terms of literacy, Andhra Pradesh is among the bottom five states of the country. The literacy rate in the state is recorded as 67.02, with a breakup of 60.45 in rural areas and 80.09 in urban areas.

The male-female gap in the literacy rate decreased from 19.89 (2001 census) to 15.73 (2011 census).