India Achieves Near-Universal Birth and Death Registration in 2024; Sex Ratio Improves Unevenly
India's latest civil registration data, CRS 2024, released on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, shows that birth and death registration has reached near-universal levels, with over 99% of births and deaths recorded. The report, which evaluates the performance of the civil registration system across states and union territories, also highlights improvements in sex ratio at birth, though progress remains uneven.
According to the report, the national sex ratio at birth stands at 917 females per 1,000 males, meaning 917 girls are born for every 1,000 boys. Top performers include Arunachal Pradesh (1,050 females per 1,000 males), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (984), Meghalaya (974), Mizoram (972), and Kerala (970). The lowest ratios were recorded in Nagaland (865), Lakshadweep (865), and Jharkhand (890). A sex ratio close to or above the biological norm indicates that birth rates are not heavily distorted by sex-selective abortions or terminations.
India has historically struggled with a preference for sons, leading to a masculine skew in the sex ratio at birth. States like Haryana and Punjab have recorded very low child sex ratios in the past — 834 girls per 1,000 boys in Haryana and 846 in Punjab in the 2011 Census. The CRS 2024 data shows that policy efforts to correct this skew are yielding results, but challenges remain.
The report also notes that the number of stillbirths in 2024 was 81,117, with a heavy urban tilt — 69% occurring in urban centres.
The civil registration system has expanded its coverage significantly. Registered births rose from 252.1 lakh in 2023 to 254.7 lakh in 2024, while registered deaths increased from 86.6 lakh to 89.4 lakh. Thirteen states recorded above 90% birth registration, and 15 states recorded above 90% death registration. The overall level of birth registration reached 99.1% and death registration reached 99.4%, both extremely close to full coverage.
Officials clarify that the rise in registrations does not necessarily mean a sharp increase in fertility or mortality; rather, it indicates that the system is capturing data more comprehensively. This improvement provides more reliable data to guide policy and implementation.
Registration of births and deaths is mandatory under the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969, but compliance has been an ongoing challenge. The reporting and application forms were amended and simplified in December 2006 to make them user-friendly and eliminate redundant data.
