Bihar vs West Bengal: fertility, marriage age and wanted children
In SRS 2023, Bihar records 2.8 children per woman and West Bengal records 1.3.
In NFHS-5 (2019-21), women in Bihar had about 3.0 children against a wanted 2.3, and women in West Bengal had about 1.6 against a wanted 1.4.
41% of women aged 20 to 24 in Bihar were married before 18, compared with 41.6% in West Bengal.
Since 2003, the SRS figure fell by 1.4 in Bihar and fell by 1.0 in West Bengal.
Last updated:
Side by side
| Measure | Source | Bihar | West Bengal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children per woman | SRS 2023 | 2.8 | 1.3 |
| Children per woman | NFHS-5 | 3.0 | 1.6 |
| Wanted children per woman | NFHS-5 | 2.3 | 1.4 |
| Actual minus wanted | NFHS-5 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| Women 20-24 married before 18* | NFHS-5 | 41% | 41.6% |
| Women 15-19 who have begun childbearing* | NFHS-5 | 11% | 16.4% |
| Median age at first marriage, women 25-29 | NFHS-5 | 17.7 | 18.0 |
* Rounded in source: one of these states' NFHS-5 state report publishes whole percents, the other's fact sheet one decimal.