India?s Fertility Rate Remains Steady At 2.0, Child Stunting Declines

The National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6), released by the Union health ministry on Friday, showed that India?s total fertility rate remained unchanged at 2.0 children per woman, the same as in NFHS-5. The rate stood at 1.6 in urban areas and 2.1 in rural areas. 

The survey also showed that the contraceptive prevalence rate increased from 66.7 per cent to 69.1 per cent. NFHS-6 recorded significant improvements in maternal and child healthcare services across the country. 

About 95.9 per cent of pregnant women received antenatal care, while the share of mothers receiving antenatal care



in the first trimester increased from 70 per cent to 76.2 per cent. Mothers receiving at least four antenatal care visits also increased from 58.5 per cent to 65.2 per cent.

Full vaccination coverage among children aged 12 to 23 months increased from 83.8 per cent in 2019-21 to 87.1 per cent in 2023-24. The receipt of any vaccine among children in this age group remained consistently high at above 96 per cent.

Rotavirus vaccination coverage rose sharply from 36.4 per cent to 85.4 per cent, while coverage of the second dose of measles-containing vaccine increased from 58.6 per cent to 71.8 per cent.