‘Most populous’ India has big gap in sex ratio; Female population leads in Hong Kong, Nepal
2 min read . Updated: 22 Apr 2023, 11:47 AM IST
Premium- According to the World Bank, women account for 48% of India's population
This week, the United Nations informed the world that India was now its most populous nation. According to the UN, there are now 1.428 billion people in India, as opposed to a mere 1.426 billion in China.
Nearly 50% of India's population is below the age of 25 years, according to UNFPA India representative Andrea Wojnar.
According to the UNFPA's State of World Population (SWP) Report 2023, about 25% of India's population is in the age group of 0-14 years, 18% in the 10 to 19 age group, 26% in the age bracket of 10 to 24 years, 68% in 15 to 64 years age group, and 7% above 65 years.
While India's population has soared to a new high, the sex ratio is still appalling.
The world's most populous country's female population does not even exist on the list of top 20 countries.
According to the World Bank, women account for 48% of India's population.
However, the country's overall sex ratio-women per thousand men has improved recently. For every 1,000 men, India has 1,020 women.
The sex ratio at birth also continues to e lower than what is expected.
According to the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the sex ratio at birth went up by three points to 907 in 2018-20 from 904 in 2017-19.
According to the statista.com, countries that have the highest share of women worldwide as of 2021 were: Hong Kong (54.21%), Curacao (53.97%), Nepal (53.91%), Latvia (53.88%), Lithuania (53.71%), Ukraine (53.66%), Russia (53.64%), Belarus (53.43%), El Salvador (53.22%), Armenia (52.97%), Portugal (52.68%), Puerto Rico (52.65%), Aruba (52.58%), Estonia (52.54%), Virgin Islands (52.53%), Hungary (52.38%), Georgia (52.36%), Zimbabwe (52.26%), Moldova (52.14%) and Sri Lanka (52.09%), respectively.
According to a report by Women and Men in India 2022 released on March 2023, India’s sex ratio (females per 1,000 males) is expected to improve to 952 by 2036, up significantly from 943 in 2011.