New Delhi: Nearly two-thirds of all live births in India – 66.4% – were first-borns, while births to the fourth child and beyond remained at barely 3.5%, the 2024 Sample Registration System statistical report showed. On birth spacing, which is an important factor for maternal health and child development, the data shows that 53.5% of second or subsequent births occurred 36 months or later after the previous birth.According to 2024 data, about 23% of births were second-order births, a term used to refer to a second child, and 7.3% were third-order births.In terms of urban and rural trends, the data shows that 65.4% of live births were first-order births in rural India and the percentage was 69% for urban areas. Among larger states and union territories, Telangana has the highest percentage of first-order births at 82.7%, while Kerala has the lowest at 47.9%. Interestingly, Kerala had the highest percentage of second order and third order births at 34.9% and 13.3%.While Kerala had the highest percentage of second-order and third-order births, Telangana had the lowest at 13.4% and 2.9% respectively, the 2024 Sample Registration System statistical report showed.Madhya Pradesh has the highest percentage of fourth or higher order births at 6.5%, while Andhra Pradesh ranks lowest at 0.5%.Data on birth order and the interval between consecutive live births have been collected under the Sample Registration System (SRS) since 1990.Birth order – the chronological order of child births within a family – and birth intervals are key indicators of spacing between children and fertility levels.

The trend in terms of birth order in 2024 is in line with previous years.In 2023, first-order births were 66%, and fourth or higher order births were 3.6%.In 2022, 64% of live births were first-order births and fourth or higher-order births were 4.7%.As far as spacing of births is concerned, 53.5% of second and higher order births occurred 36 months or more after the previous live birth and only 1.4% of live births occurred within 10–12 months of the previous live birth. According to the data, 19.3% of births occurred within 12–24 months and 25.8% occurred within 24–36 months of the previous live births. The percentage distribution varies considerably across states and union territories. For example, the percentage of second and higher order live births occurring 36 months or more after the last live birth ranged from 32.8% in Andhra Pradesh to 79% in Assam.Previous research drawn from government data such as the National Family Health Survey has repeatedly underlined the urgent need for better birth spacing methods in family planning. He highlighted that pregnancies less than a year apart increase the risk of diarrhoea, respiratory infections and stunting among children under five in India.The report also points to a strong relationship between women’s education and fertility rates. While India’s total fertility rate is 1.9, which remains below the replacement level of 2.1 in 2024, illiterate women recorded a much higher fertility rate of 3.2 compared to 1.8 among literate women.