Bangalore Population Increased by Nearly 50% Despite Decline in Fertility Rates

With the world’s population crossing the 7 billion mark on October 31, a Bangalore-based think tank has revealed that the population in the city has increased by nearly 50 percent over the last decade. The Population Research Centre at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) analyzed the demographic changes over the last decade and found that the fertility of women in Karnataka has declined to 2 children per woman compared to the national average of 2.6 children per woman.

In spite of the reduction in growth rate, the population of Bangalore has increased by 48 percent in the last 10 years, with people migrating to the state capital. According to the 2011 census, Bangalore’s population increased from 57.01 lakh in 2001 to 84.25 lakh in 2011. Professor KS James of ISEC said that the rapid rise could be attributed to the large number of migrants to the city.

Professor James also said that with the fertility rate falling down, Karnataka could experience negative population growth rate. “The fertility rate has reached a replacement level [the level of fertility at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next] of two children per woman in Karnataka. Across India, it is around 2.6 children per woman. Karnataka will have a negative growth in child and adult population”, he said.

Source-Medindia