India’s Civil Registration System (CRS) Report 2023

Context:

The Registrar-General of India (RGI) released the Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System (CRS) 2023 report, which provides official data on births, deaths, and sex ratio at birth across the country.

Key Findings

Birth Registration Trends

• India registered 2.52 crore births in 2023, which is 2.32 lakh fewer than the 2.54 crore births recorded in 2022.
• The overall registration level of births stood at 98.4%, showing a nearly complete coverage nationwide.
• Institutional births accounted for 74.7% of total registered births in 2023.
• 11 States/UTs achieved over 90% timely registration (within 21 days), including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Punjab, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Chandigarh, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Death Registration Trends

• 86.6 lakh deaths were registered in 2023, marginally higher than 86.5 lakh in 2022.
• There was no major spike in death registration during 2022–2023, despite the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard reporting 5.33 lakh pandemic-related deaths as of May 2025.
• However, 2021 saw a significant surge, with 102.2 lakh deaths, compared to 81.2 lakh in 2020 — a rise attributed to the second wave of COVID-19.

Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB)

• National concern: The sex ratio at birth (females per 1,000 males) remains uneven across States.
  • Lowest SRB:
    • Jharkhand – 899
    • Bihar – 900
    • Telangana – 906
    • Maharashtra – 909
    • Gujarat – 910
    • Haryana – 911
    • Mizoram – 911
  • Highest SRB:
    • Arunachal Pradesh – 1,085
    • Nagaland – 1,007
    • Goa – 973
    • Ladakh & Tripura – 972
    • Kerala – 967
• Bihar has consistently reported the lowest sex ratio at birth since 2020.

Statewise Registration Performance

• Above 90% registration (within 21 days): Gujarat, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Punjab.
• 80–90% registration: Odisha, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh.
• 50–80% registration: Assam, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar, Rajasthan, J&K, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh.