Measurement
Understanding India's National Family Health Survey
How the NFHS has evolved over time, how it collects its data, and key discussions and debates around it.
Latest
Work
Why has female labour force participation in India changed?
After being low by global standards for decades, and falling further since the mid 2000s, the share of Indian women who are in the labour force has increased. We examine the parts of the workforce and the economy where these changes have occurred.
Health
Road accident deaths
Road accidents are now the leading cause of death among young men in particular. Two-wheeler riders are at particular risk, and traffic violations play a major role.
Measurement
Estimating the true extent of road accident fatalities
By official statistics, India has the largest number of reported deaths from road accidents of any country. But these are likely significant underestimates.
Population
Age distribution in Indian states
Whether in the north or the south, Indian states are all seeing their populations begin to age. However over a decade separates India's youngest and oldest states, and the southern states are already seeing a shrinking working-age population.
Measurement
How the NFHS gets India's sex ratio wrong
The National Family Health Survey consistently underestimates the proportion of young males and elderly females in India's population. Estimates of the sex ratio from the NFHS need to be used with caution.
Measurement
How India measures literacy
Literacy rates are rising fast in India. But how literacy is defined matters, as does the manner in which surveys on literacy are conducted, resulting in some illiterate people being missed from official statistics.
Health
Malaria in India
India has made large strides in reducing the annual incidence of malaria and deaths from the disease. However, malaria remains a major public health challenge, particularly in central and eastern states, and among young children.
Measurement
Measuring malaria
Accurately estimating the incidence and mortality from diseases in India, including malaria, is challenging. We lay out the available data sources and explain our reasons behind using selected sources.
Living Conditions
ICT skills
Most Indians can send messages, but far fewer have the information and communications technology (ICT) skills needed to do calculations, make presentations or write code. There are large gaps between rural and urban Indians, and between men and women.
Measurement
Population projections and their track record
Between censuses, and to plan for the future, countries rely on population projections. Understanding how these projections are made, as well as their past successes and failures, is vital.
Economy
The economies of Indian states
India's states differ from each other not only in the sizes of their populations, but also in the sizes of their economies. While all states are growing, the rate of growth varies significantly between regions.
Living Conditions
Access to toilets in India
India has made major strides in improving sanitation, but one in four rural households still does not have access to toilets.
Health
Maternal mortality in India
From having maternal mortality rates well above the world average two decades ago, India has seen a sharp fall in the risk of death during pregnancy. Yet, regional disparities exist, and India is some distance from meeting international commitments.
Living Conditions
Vehicle ownership in India
Two-wheeler ownership has become more widespread in India, but car ownership is relatively low and concentrated among some groups.
Living Conditions
Access to electricity
Access to electricity in India is now nearly universal - in 2000, only 60% of the population had access to electricity. By 2021, this figure had risen to 99.6%.
