Kerala vs Punjab: fertility, marriage age and wanted children

Kerala and Punjab both record 1.5 children per woman in SRS 2023.

In NFHS-5 (2019-21), women in Kerala had about 1.8 children against a wanted 1.7, and women in Punjab had about 1.6 against a wanted 1.4.

6.3% of women aged 20 to 24 in Kerala were married before 18, compared with 8.7% in Punjab.

Since 2003, the SRS figure fell by 0.3 in Kerala and fell by 0.8 in Punjab.

Last updated:

Side by side

MeasureSourceKeralaPunjab
Children per womanSRS 20231.51.5
Children per womanNFHS-51.81.6
Wanted children per womanNFHS-51.71.4
Actual minus wantedNFHS-50.10.2
Women 20-24 married before 18NFHS-56.3%8.7%
Women 15-19 who have begun childbearingNFHS-52.4%3.1%

Trends since 2003 (SRS)

Kerala

Children per woman in Kerala and all-India, SRS 2003 to 2023 Kerala: 1.8 in 2003, 1.5 in 2023. All-India: 3.0 to 1.9. 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 200320132023 1.5 1.9
Kerala All-India SRS, children per woman

Punjab

Children per woman in Punjab and all-India, SRS 2003 to 2023 Punjab: 2.3 in 2003, 1.5 in 2023. All-India: 3.0 to 1.9. 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 200320132023 1.5 1.9
Punjab All-India SRS, children per woman
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Sources

How we use these sources