Fewer births, bigger questions for Tamil Nadu
While the decline in births reflects a broader demographic transition, with implications for the workforce and ageing population, experts say greater attention must be paid to education, childcare, social security, elderly care and standard of living
Tamil Nadu experienced a significant decline in births in 2025, with nearly 45,000 fewer births compared to the previous year. The total number of births fell by 5.3%, from 8.47 lakh in 2024 to 8.02 lakh in 2025. This trend reflects a long-term demographic transition, with experts suggesting that the total fertility rate among women of reproductive age has been below the replacement level of 2.1 for nearly two decades.
The decline in births could lead to a decline in the overall population, as population momentum will no longer sustain growth. While the government has launched initiatives like "Thaimaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam" to incentivize childbirth, experts argue that policies alone may not be sufficient to reverse the declining trend. Instead, they advocate for investments in quality education, childcare, social security, and elderly care.
The focus should be on improving the standard of living, creating productive and healthy populations, and ensuring that prosperity translates into better living standards.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu - Sci-Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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