The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of Odisha has declined in comparison to the national parameters in the last three years, the state’s Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling informed the Assembly on Monday.
The TFR is the average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime if she experienced the current age-specific fertility rates throughout her reproductive years (typically ages 15–49), according to health authorities.
The decline in TFR in Odisha does not pose an immediate economic risk, and there is currently no need to raise fertility, said the minister, replying to a question by BJD MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain.
Instead, Odisha is focusing and maximizing the demographic dividend through education, skills and employment while ensuring healthy, planned families, the minister added.
As against the national average of 1.9, the TFR in Odisha in 2023 was at 1.7 while the state’s TFR stood at 1.7 against the national average of 2 in 2022.
Similarly, Odisha’s TFR was at 1.8 in 2021, as against the national average of 2 in 2021.
Odisha’s population is likely to be stabilized in the coming years if the current trend of dipping TFR continues. Rise in female literacy and increase in the cost of living, besides a dip in economically viable employment avenues, have all contributed to the fall in the birthrate in Odisha, said experts.