New Delhi, 10 June (H.S.): UNFPA’s 2025 State of World Population Report, titled The Real Fertility Crisis, emphasizes the urgency of addressing unmet reproductive goals instead of worrying about the implications of declining fertility. The report highlights that millions are unable to realize their fertility aspirations, marking this as the genuine crisis rather than concerns of underpopulation or overpopulation. Promoting reproductive agency—allowing individuals to make informed choices regarding sex, contraception, and family planning—is essential.

The report features a UNFPA-YouGov survey conducted in 14 countries, including India, and counters the dominant narratives of ‘population explosion’ or ‘collapse’. Replacement-level fertility, often defined as 2.1 births per woman for stable population size, is reached when a population maintains its numbers across generations. India, with a fertility rate of 2.0, has achieved this metric; however, significant obstacles still prevent many, particularly women, from making autonomous reproductive choices, highlighting disparities across various regions and states.

This results in India's “high fertility and low fertility duality,” where regions like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh continue to report higher fertility rates, contrasting with states such as Delhi, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, which maintain below-replacement fertility. The duality is influenced by economic opportunities, healthcare access, educational attainment, and existing gender and social norms.

The UNFPA–YouGov Survey 2025 reveals critical barriers to reproductive autonomy in India, where financial constraints rank as a major factor, with nearly 40% of respondents indicating finances are hindering their desired family size. Job insecurity (21%), housing challenges (22%), and the lack of reliable childcare (18%) further exacerbate the difficulties of parenthood. Health-related issues, including poor overall wellbeing (15%), infertility (13%), and limited access to pregnancy care (14%), add further strain. Additionally, concerns regarding the future—such as climate change and sociopolitical instability—affect reproductive choices, alongside familial or partner pressures experienced by 19% of respondents to limit their desired number of children.

UNFPA India Representative Andrea M. Wojnar notes that while India has significantly reduced fertility rates—from nearly five children per woman in 1970 to around two today—thanks to enhanced education and reproductive healthcare access, deep-seated inequalities remain prevalent among states, castes, and income groups. Real demographic dividends arise when everyone possesses the freedom and resources to make informed reproductive decisions, positioning India uniquely to demonstrate the synergistic advancement of reproductive rights and economic prosperity.

Beyond traditional barriers, emerging social realities are reshaping reproductive decisions, presenting a complex web of modern challenges. Key factors include the loneliness pandemic, changing relationship dynamics, difficulties in locating supportive partners, social stigma surrounding reproductive choices, and persistent gender norms. Increased expectations for intensive parenting disproportionately pressure women, reinforcing unequal caregiving responsibilities, which in turn influences their decisions on whether and when to have children.

This year's State of World Population (SOWP) report marks a significant shift, focusing on reproductive agency as a crucial global priority. It emphasizes that the primary concern is not the population size itself, but the widespread challenges hindering individuals’ rights to make informed choices about reproduction—specifically the ability to decide freely and responsibly if, when, and how many children to have.

In the annexure titled UNFPA’s Vision for a Rights-Based, Resilient India, UNFPA envisions “demographic resilience,” which refers to societies' capability to adapt to population changes without compromising human rights. The report delineates five essential pillars for a rights-based approach in India:

1. Expanding Sexual Reproductive Health Services: This entails ensuring universal access to contraception, safe abortion, maternal health, and infertility treatments.

2. Removing Structural Barriers: Investments are needed in childcare, education, housing, and workplace flexibility to support reproductive health.

3. Promoting Inclusive Policies: Services should be extended to include unmarried individuals, LGBTQIA+ persons, and other marginalized groups to ensure comprehensive access.

4. Improving Data and Accountability: Shifting focus beyond mere fertility rates, the emphasis lies in measuring unmet family planning needs and bodily autonomy, ensuring informed reproduction.

5. Fostering Social Change: Community initiatives are necessary to challenge existing stigma and enhance health literacy about reproductive rights and options.

The State of World Population Report, published annually by UNFPA since 1978, serves as its flagship publication, addressing critical sexual and reproductive health and rights issues in mainstream development discussions, and guiding policy and public discourse on these matters.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar