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How Family Aspirations Changed In India Over Decades? UN Report Tells Stories Of 3 Generations
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Across India, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has plummeted from about 6 in 1960 to 2 today, as per the UNFPA report.
India is moving from large, necessity-driven households to smaller, aspiration-led ones. The recent UNFPA's State of World Population 2025 report features a compelling story of three generations from a single family in Bihar, showcasing this journey of change and its broader implications
Saraswati Devi, now 64, was married at just 16 in 1976. By age 30, she had five sons, reflecting a time when the average woman in India had six children, fewer than a quarter used contraception, and under half completed primary school.
There was virtually no personal choice — childbearing was determined by tradition, utility, and family or community expectations.
Schooling increased gradually and by the 1980s and '90s, more girls were finishing primary education and had slightly better access to contraception. But families still aimed for multiple children. Anita Devi, Saraswati's daughter-in-law, married at 18 in the late 1990s. She ended up having six children; four daughters and two sons.
'I initially wanted only one or two children, just one girl and one boy. We are poor, and raising a large family is difficult… But talking about family planning was not easy in my family, and my husband was against contraception," Anita was quoted as saying in the UNFPA report.
But fertility rates began to decline, reflecting slow uptake of family planning and shifting norms.
The UNFPA reports states that today, nearly 70 per cent of women use contraception, over 90 per cent complete secondary school, and the average fertility is around two children, down from six.
A Story Echoed Across India – and the World
This generational narrative is not isolated. Across India, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has plummeted from about 6 in 1960 to 2 today. The report links this shift to:
A dramatic rise in female education (from less than 50 per cent primary completion in the 1960s to more than 90 per cent today)
Contraceptive use climbing to nearly 70 per cent
Women increasingly making independent decisions about their bodies and futures
But the story isn't purely celebratory. The UNFPA warns it reflects a 'fertility aspirations crisis": one in three adult Indians (36 per cent) experience unintended pregnancies, and 30 per cent report having fewer — or more — children than they desired, with 23 per cent experiencing both.
Why These Changes Matter
India's TFR has fallen to 1.9–2.0, now below replacement level (2.1), placing it in the demographic trajectory of ageing nations. Replacement level is the average number of children a woman needs to have in order for a population to exactly replace itself from one generation to the next, without migration. The globally accepted replacement level is 2.1 children per woman.
While nearly 68 per cent of the population is currently of working age — a potential economic boon — the window to harness this before an older population overtakes is closing.
Reproductive autonomy vs structural support: Despite gains in choice, persistent economic burdens, gender inequality, and inadequate childcare or parental leave systems mean many cannot achieve their ideal family size — even if they want to, says the report.
Turning Aspirations into Reality: A Policy Imperative
UNFPA asserts that the focus must shift from controlling fertility to unlocking reproductive agency, where individuals can freely and confidently decide if, when, and how many children to have.
For India, this translates into scaling up affordable childcare and parental leave, promoting gender-equitable domestic norms, ensuring accessible reproductive healthcare and family planning and supporting economic security through jobs and housing.
India's journey from 'as many as possible" to 'as few as desired" mirrors broader global demographic shifts. The tale of three generations — from Saraswati's five to Pooja's deliberate two — captures how deeply family aspirations have evolved. But tellingly, many still cannot align their reproductive lives with their desires. As UNFPA concludes, the real challenge of fertility lies not in how few children are born, but in whether people have the freedom and support to reach their desired family size.
Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
June 11, 2025, 14:14 IST
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