Datanomics: UN bats for choice in Freedom vs Population control debate

The report also highlights India's stark "high fertility-low fertility duality," with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh showing high fertility, while Kerala and Tamil Nadu remain well below replacement levels

The UNFPA’s 2025 State of World Population report, ‘The Real Fertility Crisis’, shifts the focus from population numbers to reproductive agency — the freedom to make informed childbearing choices. In India, about 60 per cent of women and 61 per cent of men face barriers to this agency. The report highlights a fertility divide: High rates in North like Bihar and UP, and below-replacement levels in South like Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It calls for rights-based, gender-sensitive policies over demographic panic.

Barriers to reproductive freedom

Across India, US, and Brazil, economic concerns are key barriers to parenthood. Nearly 4 in 10 people