PANAJI
Goa's fertility rate of 1.3 per cent is worrying and has consistently been on the decline over the past several decades, data mentioned in the Economic Survey 2024-25 by the Union Finance Ministry on Friday shows.
Among all States, the fertility rate is the lowest in Goa at 1.3 per cent. Worse, the decline in fertility rate has been the sharpest in the last decade since 2016: from 1.73 per-cent to 1.3% now (2024-25).
Quoting data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the Economic Survey Report states that fertility rate in Goa stood at 1.9 per cent in 1992-93, 1.8 per cent in 1998-99, 1.8 per cent in 2005-06 and 1.73 per cent in 2015-16, with a 0.1 percentage point decline in each subsequent decade.
But in the last decade (9 years since 2015-16), the fertility rate has declined by an alarming 0.4 percentage points from 1.73 percent to 1.3 per cent.
In other family health parameters, however, the State stands in good stead ranking second behind Kerala in controlling child mortality. NFHS data for 2019-21, shows Goa's infant mortality rate at 5.6 per cent, second only to Kerala which tops in the country with a rate of just 4.4 per cent.
Other parameters on which Goa has fared well include the under-five mortality rate and stunting rate. Again for the period 2019-21 Goa's child mortality rate is 5.6 per cent recording a significant decline each decade since 1992-93 when it was as high as 31.9 per cent. It rose sharply to 36.7 per cent in a decade in 1998-99 but sharply dropped to 15.3 per cent in the next 10 years in 2005-06. In another ten years in 2015-16 it further dropped to 12.9 per cent and now to 5.6 percent in 2024-25.
For the under-five mortality rate, Goa again ranks second behind Kerala to control it at 10.6 per cent. Kerala's is the best at 5.2 per cent. Again Goa's performance in consistently bringing down the under-five mortality rate every decade since 1992-93 has been remarkable. The rate was 31.9 per cent in 1992-93 and rose sharply to 46.8 per cent in NFHS 1998-99 but dropped by more than half to 20.3 per cent in 2005-06.
It further slid to 12.9 per cent in 2015-16 and now to 10.6 percent in 2024-25.
For under-five stunting, although the rate is at a significant 25.8 per cent in Goa, the State is still in the green line compared to other States in controlling it.
