India accounts for the termination of some ten million female foetuses over the past 20 years.

Sex Ratio in India: 1901 to 2001
Year Sex ratio (females per 1,000 males)
1901 972
1911 964
1921 955
1931 950
1941 945
1951 946
1961 941
1971 930
1981 934
1991 927
2001 933


Sex Ratio in India: Key Figures
Sex Ratio (Excluding J & K)
Number of Females / Thousand Males
India 927
Rural 939
Urban 894
State with Highest Female Sex Ratio Kerala 1036
State with Lowest Female Sex Ratio Arunachal Pradesh 859
UT with Highest Female Sex Ratio Pondicherry 979
UT with Lowest Female Sex Ratio Chandigarh 790
District with Highest Female Sex Ratio Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) 1205
District with Lowest Female Sex Ratio Dibang Valley (Arunachal Pradesh) 788

Data Source : 1991 Census of India
For working out the sex ratio of India and Assam for 1981, interpolated figures for Assam have been used.
For working out the sex ratio of India and Jammu and Kashmir for 1991, interpolated figures for Jammu and Kashmir have been used
For working out the sex ratio of India, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for 2001, estimated
figures for affected areas of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have been used.
The sex ratio for Arunachal Pradesh is not available for the years 1901-1951 and for Pondicherry
it is not available for the years 1901, 1931 and 1941.


Facts at a Glance
India has the largest population of children (below 18 years), with 400 million.
India witnesses more than 27,00,000 child deaths a year, with the figures for female children being much higher than male children
53% of girls in the age group 5 to 9 years are illiterate
75% of married Indian women were underage when they got married
One in every twp girls in India is malnourished
Out of the 12 million girls born in India, 1 million die before the first year of life
One out of sixth girl child dies due to gender discrimination
One out of every 10 women report instances of child sexual abuse (CSA)
Female mortality is higher in 224 out of 402 districts in India