Patiala, May 23 -- Punjab's total fertility rate (TFR), the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her reproductive years, has declined to 1.4 in 2024, according to the latest Government of India data.

The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, under the ministry of home affairs, is responsible for conducting the Census and managing vital statistics, including births and deaths.

The data shows Punjab's TFR declined from 1.7 in 2014 to 1.5 in 2024 in rural areas, while urban areas reported an even lower 1.4, indicating smaller family sizes across both rural and urban populations.

The TFR is significantly lower than the replacement level of 2.1 (set by the United Nations Population Division...