Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report

The Sample Registration System (SRS) is India’s most reliable continuous demographic survey, conducted by the Registrar General of India (RGI). Its purpose is simple yet powerful: To provide accurate annual estimates of birth rate, death rate, fertility, and mortality at national and state levels.

Key Highlights of 2024 Report

• Fertility Trends
  • Sub-Replacement Fertility: Total Fertility Rate (TFR) remained flat at 1.9, staying below replacement level for fifth consecutive year.
    • The “replacement level” fertility is the rate at which population size remains constant from generation to generation, crudely defined as 2.1 births per woman.
• Mortality Trends:
  • Crude Death Rate (CDR): CDR at 6.4 in 2024; overall death rate remains higher than pre-pandemic levels.
  • Infant Mortality: Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) declined to 24, drop of 6 points over last five years. (Kerala lowest IMR 8).
  • Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR): Stands at 28.
    • U5MR is the probability that a child born in a specific year or time period will die before reaching the age of five. (Expressed as a rate per 1,000 live births).
• Causes of Death Concerns: 
  • From motor vehicle accidents deaths rose to 3.2% and deaths by suicide increased to 2.8%.
• Demographic & Social Indicators:
  • Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB): Marginal improvement, rising to 918 females per 1,000 males in (2022-2024).

Key Highlights of Report 2023

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR): 1.9 nationally in 2023, below replacement level (2.1);
  • Bihar highest (2.8), Delhi lowest (1.2).
• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): 25 in 2023, down from 26 in 2022 and 32 in 2018.
  • Highest in Chhattisgarh, MP & UP (37), lowest in Kerala (5). 
  • 1 in 40 infants die before age one.
• Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR): Declined to 29 in 2023 from 30 in 2022, due to fall in female U5MR.
• Crude Birth Rate (CBR): 18.4 at national level (2023);
  • Highest in Bihar (25.8), lowest in Tamil Nadu (12.0).
• Crude Death Rate (CDR): 6.4 nationally (2023);
  • Highest in Chhattisgarh (8.3), lowest in Delhi (4.5).
• Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB): Improved to 917 (2021–23) from 914 (2020-22);
  • Highest in Chhattisgarh (974), lowest in Uttarakhand (868).
  • Also, it was 914 in rural and 925 in urban areas.

Key Terms

• TFR:  It is the average number of children a woman would have during her reproductive years.
• IMR: It is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births.
• U5MR: It is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.
• CBR: It is the number of live births per 1,000 people in the mid of a given year.
• CDR: It is the number of deaths per 1,000 people in the mid of a given year.
• Sex ratio: It refers to the number of females for every 1,000 males in a population

CRS vs SRS

The Civil Registration System (CRS) and Sample Registration System (SRS) are complementary sources of vital statistics in India.

CRS continuously records actual births, deaths and stillbirths and aims at universal registration, whereas SRS uses a representative sample and a dual-record system to estimate demographic indicators such as birth rate, death rate, fertility and infant mortality.

Thus, CRS is primarily an event-registration system, while SRS is a demographic estimation system.

Basis	CRS	SRS
Full form	Civil Registration System	Sample Registration System
Nature	Continuous registration system	Sample-based demographic system
Coverage	Aims to cover all births, deaths and stillbirths	Covers selected representative sample units
Main purpose	Official registration of vital events	Estimation of fertility and mortality indicators
Key outputs	Registered births, deaths, stillbirths, sex ratio at birth, etc.	Birth Rate, Death Rate, TFR, IMR, U5MR, etc.
Legal basis	Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969	Statistical system operated by ORGI
Method	Administrative registration	Dual-record system involving continuous enumeration and independent survey
Key distinction	Records actual events	Estimates demographic rates