By Yutika Agarwal
Population and literacy have been a concern for India for decades. It is significant to note that though India was amongst the first countries in the world to have introduced a national family planning program in the 1950s, it is still the second most populous country in the world. The census of 2001 and 2011 shows a decline in population growth from 21.34% to 17.46%. Female literacy on the other hand has increased by a mere 54% to 65% in the same decade. This data points towards the inverse relationship between female literacy and population growth. This relation can further be corroborated by the studying the data of the state Kerela where female literacy has increased from 86.17% in 1991 to 87.72% in 2001 and 91.98% in 2011, and the population growth has moved from 14.32% to 9.42% and further to 4.9% in the same years. By means of econometric analysis, when a linear regression was studied keeping the population growth as the dependent variable and the female literacy as the independent variable, a significant negative relationship was noted between the two, which confirmed that a growth in female literacy keeps a check on population.
In a country like India, females, especially the illiterate are married at a very young age necessarily and conclusively implying that they begin giving birth giving to children at a tender age. The consequential damage to health and mortality of the mother and the child can only be avoided if the females are educated. Education not only helps them cut out of the vicious circle by delaying their marriageable age and hence affecting family size, it also makes them aware of the implications of child birth at a certain age to their health. Being more aware of the chances of the survival of the infant also impacts the population growth statistics. Women who can read and write tend to become more knowledgeable about family planning and are more likely to use contraceptive methods. Women with education are also more likely to have interest outside their immediate family and to play social roles beyond child bearing.
Population growth rate is a complex phenomenon impacted by several reasons, yet female literacy continues to be one of the significant ones amongst them. If female literacy rates were to rise rapidly in India, it could accelerate the achievement of lower fertility rates and in turn speed the achievement of the other national development goals that are hindered by the exploding population bomb.
Yutika is a second semester student of M.Sc. Economics at TERI University, Vasant Kunj. She has graduated in Statistics from Ramjas College, University of Delhi. The interest in subject encouraged her to pursue a masters in Economics. She likes to read, dance and play badminton. She has worked as an associate analyst in the quality and risk management department in Ernst & Young, GSS, Gurgaon for a span of 8 months post her graduation.