New Delhi – India registered over 200,000 fewer births in 2023 compared to the previous year, marking a slight decline of about one percent. This is the third such decrease in birth registrations within the past five years, with previous dips occurring in 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, the number of registered deaths saw a modest increase of 9,749, or 0.1%, indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels after the significant impact of COVID-19 waves.
These figures were released by the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI), a body functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, in its ‘Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System (CRS) report for 2023’. The CRS report serves as a comprehensive record of all registered births and deaths nationwide.
While it’s acknowledged that not every birth and death is registered, the data from the 2023 CRS report aligns closely with estimates from the Sample Registration System (SRS) report, which was published on September 3. The SRS report also suggested a decline in India’s birth and death rates in 2023 compared to 2022.
Specifically, the CRS report states that 25.2 million births were registered in 2023, which is 232,094 fewer than in 2022. The increase in registered deaths was minimal, with 8.7 million recorded in 2023, an increase of only 9,749 over the previous year.
Although the stabilization of death registrations is a positive sign following the challenging pandemic years, the CRS report highlights two concerning trends. The proportion of institutional births decreased slightly to 74.7% in 2023 from 75.5% in 2022, remaining below the over 80% levels observed in the years immediately preceding the pandemic. Furthermore, the percentage of deaths occurring without medical attention saw an increase, rising from 50.7% in 2022 to 53.4% in 2023. This figure was less than 40% in the years prior to the pandemic.