Vaccination Drive: A child being vaccinated at the Government Women and Children’s Hospital in Palakkad on Sunday under the polio vaccination program of the State Health Department. , Photo Credit: Mustafa KK
After 75 years of independence, there is considerable variation between states on key health metrics. In general, many northeastern, western and southern states, especially Kerala, do better compared to the rest. Union territories perform better than larger states on many parameters. Eastern, central and some northern states, especially Madhya Pradesh, lag behind others. Zones: North (light blue), South (lavender), East (lilac), Northeast (green), West (yellow), Central India (grey) and Union Territories (orange)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 1991-95 vs. 2013-17
With average life expectancies of 72.9 and 75.2 during the early 1990s and 2013–17, respectively, Kerala remained the state with the highest life expectancy at birth. Madhya Pradesh had the lowest life expectancy (54.7) in the 1991–95 period, followed by Uttar Pradesh with a life expectancy of 65 in the 2013–17 period. Life expectancy is the average number of years a person is likely to live if exposed to similar mortality conditions until death.
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Infant Mortality Rate: 2004 vs. 2018
In 2004, Kerala had the lowest infant mortality rate (IMR) of 12. By 2018, Nagaland had crossed it, with an IMR of 4. Madhya Pradesh had an IMR of 79 in 2004 and ranked at the bottom of the list in 2018 with an IMR of 48.
Vaccination: 1992-93 vs 2019-21
In 1992-93, 35.4% of children aged 12-23 months were fully immunised* in India, while in 2019-21 over 75% of children in this age group were fully immunised. In 1992-93, Goa had the highest vaccination coverage (74.9%), while in 2019-21, the highest coverage was in Odisha (90.5%). With an immunization coverage of 3.8%, Nagaland had the lowest share in 1992-93 and continues to have the lowest share in 2019-21 with a coverage of 57.9%
Children *12-23 months of age are considered to be fully vaccinated based on their immunization card or their mother’s recall information
Underweight Children: 1992-93 Vs 2019-21
More than 30% of children under five in India were underweight (weight for age) in 2019-21, compared to 53.4% in 1992-93. Bihar had the highest share of underweight children in 1992-93 (62.6%) as well as in 2019-21 (41%). Mizoram’s share of underweight children was 28.1% in 1992-93 and 12.7% in 2019-21, lowest share among states/UTs
Source: RBI Handbook of Statistics of Indian States, NFHS
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