What does it mean to have more women than men in India?

Are the survey results shocking?

Caution is taken while reading the latest sex ratio numbers. The estimated population of India in 2016 was 1.29 billion. If the sex ratio were 991, as estimated by NFHS 2015-16, the population would consist of 643 million females and 649 million males. There will be 688 million females and 675 million males, with a sex ratio of 1,020, for an estimated population of 1.36 billion in 2021. Such break-ups have meant a nearly double increase in the population of women compared to men (45 million women compared to 26 million men) over the past five years. The difference seems huge, even taking into account the different mortality rates of the sexes.

How do NFHS data and census data compare?

The NFHS, despite being a large-scale survey that covered about 650,000 households in the latest round across states, consistently underestimates the sex ratio compared to the population census. In 2005–06, the NFHS calculated the sex ratio at 1:1, while the 2011 census showed it to be 943 females per 1,000 males. NFHS estimates, after showing progress between 1998-99 and 2005-06, fell again in 2015-16. The good news is that the sex ratio in the census data for the last three decades has shown a steady increase. Population experts suggest that migrant flows related to COVID may have influenced the NFHS findings.

What does the regional division look like now?

30 out of 36 states and union territories showed better sex ratio since 2015-16; 23 states reported a sex ratio of over 1,000 in the latest NFHS study. Despite this remarkable progress, there is a significant regional disparity observed historically, with southern states leading the way and northwestern states lagging behind.

Has Beti Bachao Beti Padhao made a dent?

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) was launched in 2015 to improve the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) – girls per 1,000 boys in 0-6 years. The sex ratio at birth (SRB) estimated by the NFHS may be an incomplete proxy for CSR. Among the states with low SRB, Delhi (812 to 923), Haryana (836 to 893) and Punjab (860 to 904) showed significant improvement, while Rajasthan (887 to 891) remained stable over the last five years. These states also had a large representation in the targeted districts under Phase I and II of BBBP (2015-17).

Does this mean more women in the workforce?

No. In the past two decades, India has slipped on the labor force participation rate (LFPR) of women above the age of 15, despite an improvement in the sex ratio. The World Bank data shows that the LFPR of women has fallen to 26% in 2020, from 38% in 2001. This is worse than the 78% LFPR of men in India. A major reason for this difference is the higher participation rate of Indian women than men in unpaid household duties. For India to drop its “missing woman” tag, it must invest in policies to ensure that women are not missing out in the workforce.