Q. The total fertility rate in an economy is defined as:

  • the number of children born per 1000 people in the population in a year.
  • the number of children born to a couple in their lifetime in a given population.
  • the birth rate minus death rate.
  • the average number of live births a woman would have by the end of her child-bearing age.

Answer: (d) the average number of live births a woman would have by the end of her child-bearing age.

Notes:
  • The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime if she were to experience the current age-specific fertility rates, and if she lived from birth until the end of her reproductive life.
  • In India, the TFR has experienced a significant decline, from nearly 6.2 children per woman in 1950 to just under 2 children per woman in 2021.
  • TFR of about 2.1 children per woman is called Replacement-level fertility. TFR lower than 2.1 children per woman — indicates that a generation is not producing enough children to replace itself, eventually leading to an outright reduction in population.
Other Options:
  • Option (a): This describes the crude birth rate, which measures the number of live births per 1,000 people in a given year.
    • The CBR is calculated by dividing the number of live births by the estimated midyear population and then multiplying by 1,000.
  • Option (b): This could be confused with the concept of “lifetime births,” but it does not accurately capture the statistical definition of TFR, which considers current fertility rates.
  • Option (c): This represents the net growth rate but does not accurately reflect fertility rates.