UPSC Previous Year Question | Prelims GS | 2024

The total fertility rate in an economy is defined as:

  1. The number of children born per 1000 people in the population in a year.
  2. The number of children born to a couple in their lifetime in a given population.
  3. The birth rate minus the death rate.
  4. The average number of live births a woman would have by the end of her child-bearing age.

Answer

Correct Answer

The average number of live births a woman would have by the end of her child-bearing age.

Explanation

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) estimates the average number of children a woman would bear during her reproductive years if she experienced the age-specific fertility rates prevailing in a given period. Option A describes the crude birth rate, which measures births per 1,000 population in a year. Option B is not the standard population-level definition of TFR. Option C describes the difference between birth and death rates, which is the rate of natural increase—not TFR.

Topics: demography, fertility and population indicators, indian economy, total fertility rate