The total fertility rate in an economy is defined as :
- (a) the number of children born per 1000 people in the population in a year.
- (b) the number of children born to a couple in their lifetime in a given population.
- (c) the birth rate minus death rate.
- (d) the average number of live births a woman would have by the end of her child-bearing age. ✓ UPSC's answer
Why the answer is (d)
• The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of live births a woman would have over her reproductive lifetime (usually ages 15–49) if she experienced the current age-specific fertility rates — option (d).
• It is a synthetic, per-woman measure, which is why it is compared with the replacement level of about 2.1; India's TFR fell to 2.0 in NFHS-5 (2019–21).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) the number of children born per 1000 people in the population in a year.
- Births per 1,000 population is the crude birth rate, not TFR.
- (b) the number of children born to a couple in their lifetime in a given population.
- TFR is measured per woman using age-specific rates, not per couple.
- (c) the birth rate minus death rate.
- Birth rate minus death rate is the natural growth rate.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2024, held on 16 June 2024. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.