Only Bihar (891) and Maharashtra (906) ranked lower, while Kerala was among the top five in the country, surpassed only by Nagaland with 1,068 girls per 1,000 boys, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (1,036) and Meghalaya (972).
Published Jun 12, 2025 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 12, 2025 | 7:00 AM
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, with 947, 940 and 938, respectively, also performed better.
Synopsis: Telangana recorded the third-worst sex ratio at birth in India in 2022, with just 907 girls for every 1,000 boys. Experts attribute this trend to rapid, unequal development, the imposition of the two-child norm without accompanying social progress, and persistent economic pressures like dowry and education costs.
Telangana recorded one of the worst sex ratios at birth (SRB) in the country in 2022, with just 907 girls born for every 1,000 boys. Only Bihar (891) and Maharashtra (906) ranked lower, according to the latest Civil Registration System’s vital statistic of India report.
This marks a sharp decline for a state that had a much healthier figure of 953 in 2019, with the trend worsening year after year – 937 in 2020 and 922 in 2021.
The drop is especially troubling, as Telangana has not experienced the rapid population growth typically associated with such gender imbalances. Furthermore, the state had improved its SRB from 915 in 2017 to 924 in 2018, reaching its highest level in 2019.
Meanwhile, Kerala was among the top five in the country, bettered only by Nagaland with 1,068 girls per 1,000 boys, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (1,036) and Meghalaya (972).
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, with 947, 940 and 938, respectively, also performed better.
While Bihar and Maharashtra face challenges of high population growth and urban pressure, Telangana’s relatively stable population makes its poor performance more difficult to explain – and more urgent to address.
Dr A Suneetha, a Senior Fellow at the Hyderabad-based research group Yugantar, links the falling sex ratio to the state’s development model.
“In Telangana, there is decline in the sex ratio, as one of the important factors is the pattern of rapid, inequitable development. This kind of development doesn’t necessarily lead to improvements in human development indicators,” she told South First.
“For example, the imposition of the two-child norm can have different effects depending on how it is introduced. In places like Kerala, this norm has evolved gradually alongside improvements in women’s education and maternal health. But when such norms are enforced from the top – through policy incentives or regulations – without parallel progress in education, healthcare, or gender equality, the sex ratio tends to decline.”
Dr Suneetha pointed to the effects of the two-child policy promoted in some states, which she said can worsen gender bias when introduced without improvements in education, healthcare or gender equality.
“Families feel pressured to ensure that at least one child is male. So, under a two-child norm, they often resort to sex-selective practices. If the first child is female, there may be repeated medical terminations of pregnancy on various grounds until a male child is conceived,” she said.
“If they already have two male children, they usually stop. The desire for a male child, especially within restrictive family planning norms, is a key factor contributing to the declining sex ratio.”
Further complicating the issue, Dr Suneetha believes the law against sex-selective abortions is hard to enforce in practice.
“While the law bans sex determination, every pregnancy today undergoes ultrasound in the third month, as per current medical protocols,” she said.
“So, even though it’s illegal, it could still be happening quietly – and that’s difficult to monitor, even with government programmes in place.”
She pointed to the continued influence of dowry, rising education costs, and deep-rooted economic pressures that discourage families from having girls.
“At the heart of it is the undervaluing of women. Dowry is still widely practised and has now spread across every social stratum – Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, and others. Interestingly, sex ratios among Dalit and Muslim communities in Telangana were slightly better at one time, but I’m not sure if that still holds true,” she said.
She describes how Telangana’s growth pattern exacerbates these issues.
“What we are seeing is a pattern of growth that is capital-intensive and urban-oriented, with very little redistribution. Welfare programmes exist, yes, but when it comes to education and medical infrastructure – the foundation of human development – Telangana ranks among the lowest in South India,” she said.
“Dowry has increased overall, not just as a one-time payment at marriage but as an ongoing financial obligation that can last for years. Education, too, has become an enterprise – privatised and expensive. Families today are not just worried about educating a daughter but also about the financial burden that comes with marrying her off.”
This creates what she terms a “rational disincentive” for having girl children.
“Every family is trying to rationalise its choices. The question they face is: in what way can a girl child be welcomed into the world? Many don’t have an answer.”
The impact of fundamental changes in economic structures on women’s perceived value also plays a major role.
“In earlier times, under traditional livelihoods like agriculture, women’s labour was integral and valued. But now, with agriculture commercialised, mechanised and unremunerative, women’s roles in household economies have changed. While women continue to dominate agricultural work and increasingly as managers after their husbands die, as widows, they do so due to compulsion, not out of choice,” Dr Suneetha said.
She also criticised the mixed messages of government campaigns.
“There’s also the contradiction of campaigns like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. The more a girl is educated, the higher the dowry demanded. Because the logic of the system is that a girl must be married into a ‘better’ family – one of higher status. That better family will naturally expect more. And to keep the daughter secure in that family, the payments continue for years,” she said.
“So, families make decisions based on this harsh economic and social rationality. It’s not about cultural backwardness or tradition alone. It’s about survival in a system where development has become disconnected from equity. We were told 20 years ago that with economic development, these problems would go away. But while GDP has grown, the underlying social conditions haven’t improved accordingly. That’s why the sex ratio is still falling.”
When asked about the link between smaller family sizes and declining numbers of girl children, Dr Suneetha confirmed: “Yes, absolutely. That’s exactly what I’m saying – there’s a direct correlation between the small family norm, particularly the two-child norm, and the decline in the number of girl children.”
She draws parallels with international examples.
“This was evident in China’s one-child policy too, where it led to the disappearance of millions of girls. The same logic applies here in India. When families are limited to having only two children, they want at least one of them to be a boy. That becomes the primary concern.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
