News Excerpt:

India leads globally with an estimated population of 144.17 crore, followed by China at 142.5 crore, according to the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) State of World Population - 2024 report.

Key highlights of the report:

• The report detailed that an estimated 24 per cent of India's population is aged 0-14, while 17 per cent is within the 10-19 age range.
• The segment aged 10-24 is estimated to constitute 26 per cent, with the 15-64 age group making up 68 per cent.
• Additionally, 7 per cent of India's population is aged 65 years and above, with men's life expectancy at 71 and women's at 74.
• The report has found that 30 years of progress in sexual and reproductive health has mostly ignored the most marginalised communities worldwide.
• According to the report, the child marriage percentage in India was 23 between 2006 and 2023.
• The report noted that maternal deaths in India had fallen considerably, accounting for 8 per cent of all such fatalities worldwide.
• The report noted that India continues to see dramatic inequities in maternal death risk.
• Quoting a report on "Estimates and Correlates of District-Level Maternal Mortality Ratio in India" by PLOS Global Public Health, the UNFPA said recent research into India's 640 districts revealed that while nearly a third achieved the sustainable development goal of reducing maternal mortality ratio below 70 per 100,000 live births, 114 districts still have ratios of 210 or more.
• The highest - 1,671 per 100,000 births - is seen in the Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, a rural area with a high proportion of indigenous peoples. 
• While disaggregating these figures by socioeconomic group, ethnicity, caste, or religion is challenging, these factors clearly play a role in health outcomes.
• The report noted that women with disabilities are up to 10 times more likely to experience gender-based violence than their peers without disabilities.
• Improvements in healthcare access have primarily benefited wealthier women and those who belong to ethnic groups that already have better access to healthcare.
• Women and girls with disabilities, migrants and refugees, ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ people, people living with HIV, and disadvantaged castes all face greater sexual and reproductive health risks and also unequal access to sexual and reproductive health care.
• Their vulnerability is further compounded by powerful forces such as climate change, humanitarian crises, and mass migration, which often have a disproportionate impact on women at the margins of society.
• In India, the report said, Dalit activists have argued for legal protection for women facing caste-based discrimination in workplaces and education.
• Almost half of Dalit women, for instance, receive no antenatal care, and high rates of gender-based violence are considered a means of oppression and control.
• The report said millions of women and girls remain far behind, and progress is slowing or stalled on key measures - 800 women die every day giving birth, unchanged since 2016. 
• A quarter of women cannot say no to sex with their partner, and nearly one in 10 women cannot make their own decisions about contraception.
• In 40 per cent of countries with data, the report said women's bodily autonomy is diminishing.