<P> India suffers from the problem of overpopulation . India's current fertility rate as of 2015, is 2.4 births per woman . A fertility rate of this value drastically increases a population over time . Although the fertility rate (average number of children born per woman during her lifetime) in India has been declining, it has not reached the average replacement rate yet. The average replacement rate is 2.1 . (This rate is said to stabilize a population) Replacement rate can be defined as the rate at which the population exactly replaces itself . Factoring in infant mortality, the replacement rate is approximately 2.1 in most industrialised nations and about 2.5 in developing nations (due to higher mortality). The fertility rates in India have dropped rapidly in rural areas, but are dropping at a stable rate in urban and populated areas . Although this seems promising, two - thirds of India's population resides in rural areas, adding to the decreased fertility rate . Discounting immigration and population momentum effects, a nation that crosses below the replacement rate is on the path to population stabilisation and, eventually, population reduction . There have been several factors influencing recent trends in Indian fertility including, but not limited to: limitation of family planning ability, age at marriage / childbirth, and the space between children born to one woman . Although India is dealing with major overpopulation issues, the fertility rate and the overall population is declining, which is beneficial for not only the overpopulation issues, but also because there is a healthy amount of economic growth due to the populous amount of young workers entering the workforce . </P> <P> The fertility rate in India has been in long - term decline, and more than halved from 1960 - 2009 . From 5.7 births per woman in 1966, it declined to 3.3 births per woman by 1997 and 2.7 births per woman in 2009 . In 2005 the TFR, (total fertility rate), was listed as 2.9 births per women . Since this time, the country has recorded a steady decline in order to reach the current rate (as of 2014) of 2.3 births per woman . </P> <P> Twenty Indian states have dipped below the 2.1 replacement rate level and are no longer contributing to Indian population growth. The total fertility rate of India stands at 2.2 as of 2017 . Four Indian states have fertility rates above 3.5 - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland Of these, Bihar has a fertility rate of 4.0 births per woman, the highest of any Indian state . For detailed state figures and rankings, see Indian states ranking by fertility rate . </P> <P> In 2009, India had a lower estimated fertility rate than Pakistan and Bangladesh, but a higher fertility rate than China, Iran, Myanmar and Sri Lanka . </P>

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