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CM9.1-7 | Demography and Vital Statistics — Glossary

Glossary — CM9.1-7 | Demography and Vital Statistics

Key terms in this module. Tap a term to see its definition.

Census

A decennial complete enumeration of every person in India, mandated under the Census Act 1948; provides age, sex, literacy, occupation, and housing data to the village level.

Child Sex Ratio

Females per 1,000 males aged 0-6 years. India Census 2011 = 919; expected biologically ≈ 952.

Civil Registration System (CRS)

India's legal system of compulsory registration of births, deaths, and marriages under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969; the primary legal repository of vital events.

Combined oral contraceptive pill (OCP)

A hormonal contraceptive containing synthetic oestrogen and progestin; acts primarily by suppressing ovulation. Contraindicated in breastfeeding women within the first 6 months and in hypertension, DVT, and migraine with aura.

Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR)

The proportion of married women aged 15-49 currently using any method of contraception (modern CPR restricts to modern methods). India NFHS-5 modern CPR ≈ 56.5%.

Copper IUD (Cu-T 380A)

A non-hormonal intrauterine device that creates a spermicidal copper ion environment; effective for 10-12 years; also used as emergency contraception within 5 days.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The number of live births per 1,000 midyear total population per year; the denominator includes all ages and both sexes.

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The number of deaths per 1,000 midyear total population per year.

Demographic cycle

The historical progression of a population from high birth rates and death rates, through falling death rates, to falling birth rates and eventual stabilisation.

Demographic dividend

The economic growth potential arising when the working-age population (15-64) substantially exceeds the dependent population; India's window is estimated 2018-2055.

Demographic transition model

A four-stage model describing how populations move from high BR/DR equilibrium (Stage 1) through rapid growth (Stages 2-3) to low BR/DR equilibrium (Stage 4) as a result of economic and social development.

Demography

The scientific study of human populations, including their size, structure, distribution, and dynamics (births, deaths, migrations) over time.

Dependency Ratio

[(Population <15) + (Population ≥65)] / (Population 15-64) × 100; measures the economic burden of dependents on the working-age population.

DMPA (Antara)

Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate — a 3-monthly injectable progestin contraceptive distributed under India's Antara programme; safe in breastfeeding; high efficacy; reversibility may take 6-18 months.

Dual-record system

The SRS methodology of matching two independent records of the same population to estimate registration completeness and correct for missed events.

EAG states

Empowered Action Group states — Bihar, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Uttarakhand — with historically high TFR, IMR, and low contraceptive prevalence; priority states for national health programme investment.

Emergency contraception pill (ECP)

Levonorgestrel 1.5 mg taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse to delay or inhibit ovulation; not abortifacient; efficacy declines with delay from intercourse.

General Fertility Rate (GFR)

Live births per 1,000 midyear women aged 15-49 per year; corrects for the non-reproductive fraction of the population.

Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR)

TFR × proportion of births that are female; average daughters per woman, ignoring daughter mortality.

HMIS

Health Management Information System — the NHM's monthly facility-level aggregation of births, deaths, immunisation, and reproductive health data; provides near-real-time programme monitoring.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

Deaths in the first year of life per 1,000 live births. India SRS 2020 ≈ 28.

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)

A conditional cash transfer scheme under the National Health Mission that incentivises institutional delivery among poor women; India's institutional delivery rate rose from 38.7% (NFHS-3) to 88.6% (NFHS-5) largely driven by JSY.

Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMRatio)

Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (note: ratio, not rate — denominator is live births). India SRS 2018-20 ≈ 97.

National Family Health Survey (NFHS)

A periodic cross-sectional national household survey covering fertility, family planning, maternal and child health indicators; NFHS-5 (2019-21) is the most recent round.

National Population Policy 2000 (NPP 2000)

India's current policy framework for population stabilisation, emphasising voluntary contraception, women's empowerment, and universal reproductive health care; medium-term goal TFR 2.1 by 2010; long-term goal stable population by 2045.

Net Reproduction Rate (NRR)

GRR adjusted for female survival to mean age of childbearing. NRR = 1 at replacement level. Approaching 1 in India.

NSSO (NSO)

National Sample Survey Office (now National Statistical Office) — conducts large-scale household surveys on employment, consumer expenditure, morbidity, and healthcare utilisation.

PC-PNDT Act

Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act 1994, amended 2003; prohibits sex determination and sex-selective abortion; requires registration of ultrasound machines.

Population explosion

The rapid and unprecedented increase in human population during the 20th century, resulting from falling death rates while birth rates remained high — characteristic of Stage 2 of the demographic transition.

Population momentum

The tendency of a population to continue growing even after TFR falls to replacement level, because the large cohort of young women born during the high-fertility era continues bearing children.

Population pyramid

A graphical representation of a population's age-sex structure, with age groups on the vertical axis and proportion of each sex on the horizontal axis.

Progestin-only pill (POP)

A hormonal contraceptive containing only progestin; safe for breastfeeding women; acts by thickening cervical mucus and variably suppressing ovulation.

Sample Registration System (SRS)

A large-scale dual-record continuous sample survey operated by the Registrar General of India, providing annual state-level estimates of CBR, CDR, and IMR.

Sex Ratio

Females per 1,000 males (all ages). India Census 2011 = 943.

Sex ratio at birth (SRB)

Girl births per 1,000 boy births; biologically expected ≈ 950; values below this indicate sex-selective practices.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman would have if she experienced current age-specific fertility rates throughout her reproductive life (ages 15-49). India's NFHS-5 TFR = 2.0.

Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR)

Deaths from 0-4 years per 1,000 live births. India NFHS-5 ≈ 41.9.

Unmet need for family planning

Women who are fertile, sexually active, and do not want a pregnancy but are not using contraception. India NFHS-5 ≈ 9.4%.

Whipple's Index

A measure of digit preference in age reporting in census data; values >175 indicate severe age-heaping, signalling poor data quality in the age distribution.

39 terms in this module