Latest Health statistics : NFHS – 6 Report (2023-24)
NFHS (National Family Health Survey) Fact sheets contain the highlights for the country and State/UT-wise estimates on population, health, family planning and nutrition related key indicators such as fertility, maternal, child and adult health, women and child nutrition. These indicators throw light on important aspects of family well-being of the population of different States/UTs
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, designated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, as the nodal agency to conduct NFHS-6.
NFHS-6, the first in the NFHS series, was conducted by IIPS without any technical or financial support from external organizations.
KEY DATA: INDIA-TOTAL (2019-21 value for comparison)
- Total fertility rate (children per woman) : 2.0 (2.0)
- Current use of family planning methods (currently married women age 15-49 years) Any method : 69.1% (66.7)
- Total unmet need for family planning: 8.5% (9.4)
- Mothers who had at least 4 antenatal care visits: 65.2% (58.5)
- Mothers who consumed iron folic acid for 100 days or more when they were pregnant : 54.9% (44.1)
- Institutional births : 90.6% (88.6)
- Births delivered by cesarean section: 27.2% (21.5)
- Children age 12-23 months fully vaccinated based on information from either vaccination card or mother’s recall: 82.6 % (76.6)
- Elevated blood pressure (Systolic ≥140 mm of Hg and/or Diastolic ≥90 mm of Hg) or taking medicine to control blood pressure (%) Men: 22.1 and Women: 19.4
- Women age 15-24 years who use hygienic methods of protection during their menstrual period (%): 79.2 (77.6)
In NFHS-5, mortality indicators such as:
- Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
- Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR)
- Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR)
- Child mortality indicators
were included in the factsheets.
However, in the recently released NFHS-6 fact sheets (2023–24), several indicators have been omitted, including:
- Infant and child mortality rates (IMR, U5MR, etc.)
- Sex ratio at birth
- Anaemia prevalence
- Some family planning quality indicators
- Certain WASH and household indicators
As a result, the number of indicators reported in the factsheets has reportedly fallen from about 131 in NFHS-5 to around 101 in NFHS-6.
A few important clarifications for UPSC students:
- MMR (Maternal Mortality Ratio) has never been a routine NFHS factsheet indicator in the way IMR/U5MR are.
- India’s official MMR estimates primarily come from the Sample Registration System (SRS) rather than NFHS.
- IMR and child mortality are traditionally estimated by NFHS, and NFHS itself states that it provides estimates of fertility and infant/child mortality.
- The current NFHS-6 factsheets appear to be a condensed/preliminary release, and it remains possible that some omitted indicators may appear later in the detailed national report.
As per the NFHS-5 (2019–21) national factsheet, the mortality indicators for India were:
| Indicator | NFHS-5 Value |
|---|---|
| Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) | 35.2 per 1,000 live births |
| Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR) | 41.9 per 1,000 live births |
| Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) | 24.9 per 1,000 live births |
Definitions
- IMR: Number of deaths of infants (<1 year age) per 1,000 live births.
- U5MR: Number of deaths of children before reaching 5 years of age per 1,000 live births.
- NMR: Number of deaths during the first 28 days of life per 1,000 live births.
What about MMR?
MMR (Maternal Mortality Ratio) is not a standard NFHS factsheet indicator. India’s official MMR estimates come from the Sample Registration System (SRS).
The MMR corresponding to the period closest to NFHS-5 was:
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| MMR | 97 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (SRS 2018–20) |
