Demographic transition in Kerala: facts and factors
Krishnan, T.N.
Economic and Political Weekly 11(31/33): 1203-1224
1976
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-9976 Document Number: 354427
The birth rate in the rural sector of Kerala declined from 37.4 per 1.000 in 1966 to 26.9 in 1974; in some districts of Kerala the rural birth rate is as low as 21 per 1.000. Four elements are identified which could have contributed to the decline of birth rates in the state, viz., the age-specific nuptial rates, mortality rates, per caput income and voluntary limitation of family size by practising programme and non-programme methods of family planning. The analysis of the inter-district data has unequivocally demonstrated the role of nuptiality and mortality rates in reducing the birth rates. The rise in the average age at effective marriage is attributed to the improvements in the level of female as well as male education in Kerala. Evidence is presented to show that probably the major factor which brought about the decline in mortality rates in Kerala was the expansion and spread of health facilities.