Sociology · Ch 1 — The Demographic Structure of the Indian Society
The Declining Sex-ratio in India
The Declining Sex-ratio in India
The Declining Sex-Ratio in India
The sex ratio — the number of females per 1,000 males — is a key measure of gender balance in a population. Globally, the natural sex ratio has historically been slightly in favour of females, meaning the number of females per 1,000 males has usually been a little above 1,000. India, however, presents a starkly different picture: its sex ratio has been declining for over a century.
At the turn of the twentieth century (1901), the sex ratio stood at 972 females per 1,000 males. By the turn of the twenty-first century (2001), it had fallen to 933. The last four decades of the twentieth century were especially worrying. From 941 in 1961, the ratio dropped to an all-time low of 927 in 1991, before posting a modest increase to 933 in 2001. According to the Census of India 2011, the overall sex ratio improved further to 943.
What has truly alarmed demographers, policymakers, social activists, and concerned citizens is the drastic fall in the child sex ratio — the sex ratio for the 0–6 years age group (also called the juvenile sex ratio). Age-specific sex ratios have been computed only since 1961. Historically, the child sex ratio was substantially higher than the overall sex ratio. But it has been falling very sharply.
The decade 1991–2001 was an anomaly: the overall sex ratio posted its highest-ever increase of 6 points (from 927 to 933), yet the child sex ratio plunged by 18 points — from 945 to 927 — dropping below the overall sex ratio for the first time. In the 2011 Census (provisional), the child sex ratio fell again by 13 points, reaching 919.
The child sex ratio in 2011 (919) is now lower than the overall sex ratio was in 1901 (972).
State-Level Child Sex Ratios: A Deeper Worry
The state-level data is even more alarming. Nine states and Union Territories have a child sex ratio below 900 females per 1,000 males.
- Worst affected: Haryana, with an incredibly low 793 (the only state below 800).
- Other low states: Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.
- States under 925: Uttar Pradesh, Daman & Diu, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, and Madhya Pradesh.
- States above the national average (919) but below 970: West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
- Kerala, known for its high overall sex ratio, does not do well here either — its child sex ratio is 964.
- Highest child sex ratio: Arunachal Pradesh, at 972.
Why Is the Sex Ratio Declining? The Explanations
Demographers and sociologists have offered several reasons. The main health factor that affects women differently from men is childbearing. Could the fall in the sex ratio be partly due to increased risk of death in childbirth? Maternal mortality is supposed to decline with development — as nutrition, education, awareness, and medical facilities improve. Indeed, maternal mortality rates in India have been coming down, though they remain high by international standards. So it is difficult to see how maternal mortality could have caused the worsening sex ratio over time.
Combined with the fact that the child sex ratio has fallen much more steeply than the overall figure, social scientists believe the cause lies in the differential treatment of girl babies.
Several factors are responsible for the decline in the child sex ratio:
- Severe neglect of girl babies in infancy, leading to higher death rates.
- Sex-specific abortions that prevent girl babies from being born.
- Female infanticide — the killing of girl babies due to religious or cultural beliefs.
Each of these points to a serious social problem, and there is evidence that all three have been at work in India. Female infanticide has been known to exist in many regions. Increasingly, modern medical techniques are being misused. The sonogram (an ultrasound-based diagnostic device originally developed to identify genetic or other disorders in the foetus) is used to determine the sex of the baby early in pregnancy, leading to the selective abortion of female foetuses.
The Regional Pattern: Prosperity Does Not Help …
| Year | Sex ratio (all age groups) | Variation over previous decade | Child Sex ratio (0–6 years) | Variation over previous decade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 972 | – | – | – |
| 1911 | 964 | –8 | – | – |
| 1921 | 955 | –9 | – | – |
| 1931 | 950 | –5 | – | – |
| 1941 | 945 | –5 | – | – |
| 1951 | 946 | +1 | – | – |
| 1961 | 941 | –5 | 976 | – |
| 1971 | 930 | –11 | 964 | –12 |
| 1981 | 934 | +4 | 962 | –2 |
| 1991 | 927 | –7 | 945 | –17 |
| 2001 | 933 | +6 | 927 | –18 |
| 2011 | 943 | +10 | 919 | –8 |
What Map 2 Shows
Map 2 is a choropleth map of India — a map where each state and union territory is shaded according to a data value. The value here is the child sex ratio (number of females per 1000 males in the 0–6 age group) from the 2011 Census. The map uses different shades or colours to group states into ranges of this ratio, so you can see the geographical pattern at a glance.
The map has no other labels, arrows, or panels. It is a single flat map of India's political boundaries, with each state filled according to its child sex ratio category. The caption reads: "Map of Child Sex Ratios (0-6 Years) Across States, 2011".
What the Map Teaches
The map makes a stark point: the worst child sex ratios are concentrated in the north-western and northern parts of the country. Haryana stands out as the only state below 800 (793). Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh form a contiguous belt of very low ratios. This is not a random pattern — these are among India's more prosperous states.
A second tier of states — Uttar Pradesh, Daman & Diu, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, and Madhya Pradesh — fall under 925. Most of the large states (West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka) lie between the national average of 919 and 970. Kerala, despite its high overall sex ratio, manages only 964 for children. The highest child sex ratio in the country is Arunachal Pradesh at 972. …