There is disturbing news for the people of Hindu and Christian communities in Kerala. According to the latest data of the state Economics and Statistics Department, the number of people dying in these two religions is more than the number of people being born. ‘Negative Natural Growth Rate’ (NGR) is being seen in Hindu and Christian communities. That means the population of both these communities is decreasing naturally. Here only in the Muslim community, people are still taking more births, while their number of deaths is less. Therefore the population of entire Kerala is increasing slightly.
Whereas among Hindus and Christians it is decreasing year by year. This is the second year among Hindus and the third year among Christians when their numbers are decreasing. Its greater impact may be seen in the coming 15-20 years. Demographic experts say that the birth rate is continuously declining in all communities in Kerala. In such a situation, the entire population of Kerala will start decreasing around 2041.
How much did it decline?
Negative natural growth rate means that the death rate of a community is higher than its birth rate, due to which the population starts decreasing due to natural changes. The NGR of Hindus, which turned negative (-0.080%) for the first time in 2022, further deteriorated to -0.115% in 2023. Whereas the Christian community is in the negative range since 2021 (-0.095%) and in 2023 it reached -0.084%. The population of Hindus and Christians has been decreasing here, while due to the Muslim community, the total natural growth rate of Kerala in 2023 remained marginally positive (0.249%).
After all, what is the reason behind this?
Literacy rate is high in Kerala. Here, along with men, women also focus a lot on education and career. Here women are working more and because of this people are getting married late. In such a situation, most people want a small family. The youth are leaving Kerala.
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