India's infant mortality rate touches low of 25, down from 40 in 2013

Infant mortality rate (IMR) in the country has touched a record low of 25, a sharp dip of 37.5 per cent from 40 in 2013, according to the Sample Registration System report for 2023 issued by the Registrar General of India.

IMR is a key public health indicator defined as number of deaths of children per 1,000 live births under one year -- the lower the number the better the health accessibility.

According to the SRS 2023 report, which took into account the data for 2023, IMR has registered a dramatic 80 per cent decline from 129 in 1971. It shows that Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh reported the highest levels of IMR in the country at 37. The lowest was Manipur at 3.

Kerala was the only of the 21 large states which reported a single digit IMR of 5. It is second in the country after Manipur.

The report shows a countrywide decline of IMR from 44 to 28 in rural areas. In in urban areas of the country the numbers dipped from 27 to 18. This marks decadal drops of about 36 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.

The report also highlights decline in birth rates and death rates in the country.

Birth rate is a crude measure of fertility of a population and is a crucial determinant of population growth. It gives the number of live births per thousand population in a given region and year.

"The Birth Rate at all India level has declined drastically over the last five decades from 36.9 in 1971 to 18.4 in 2023. The rural-urban differential has also narrowed over these years. However, the Birth Rate has continued to be higher in rural areas compared to urban areas in the last five decades," it said.

The report said birth rate has declined by about 14 per cent in the last decade, from 21.4 in 2013 to 18.4 in 2023 with rural areas reporting a dip from 22.9 to 20.3 (about 11 per cent decline). For urban areas, it is from 17.3 to 14.9 (about 14 per cent decline).

Bihar reported highest birth rate of 25.8 while Andaman and Nicobar islands was at the lowest with 10.1 in 2023.

Death rate has gradually declined over the last five decades from 14.9 in 1971 to 6.4 in 2023.

In rural areas, it decreased from 7.2 in 2022 to 6.8 in 2023. In urban areas, it went down from 6.0 in 2022 to 5.7 in 2023.

Chandigarh reported the lowest death rate of 4 and Chhattisgarh the highest of 8.3, the report said.

"Mortality is one of the basic components of population change and the related data is essential for demographic studies and public health administration. The Death Rate is one of the simplest measures of mortality and is defined as the number of deaths per thousand population in a given region and time period," the report said.