Shillong: Meghalaya is seeing a major shift in family size. The Total Fertility Rate dropped from 2.9 to 2.2 between the NFHS-5 survey covering 2019 to 2021 and the recent NFHS-6 period of 2023 to 2024. This state now sits just above the replacement level of 2.1, edging closer to the national average of 2.0.
Contraceptive use among married women aged 15 to 49 jumped to 42.1 per cent from 27.4 per cent. Modern method usage climbed to 30.2 per cent while female sterilisation rose to 7.1 per cent. Teenage pregnancy also saw a decline as the proportion of mothers or pregnant teens aged 15 to 19 fell from 7.2 per cent to 4.6 per cent. Urban areas reported a sharper drop to 1.6 per cent compared to 5.1 per cent in rural zones.
Early marriage rates are also trending down. The number of women aged 20 to 24 married before 18 dropped to 13.8 per cent, though the rural rate stays higher at 14.7 per cent against 9.9 per cent in cities. Better schooling and digital access are driving these changes. Women with at least 10 years of education rose to 37.5 per cent, and internet usage climbed to 59 per cent. Officials say these shifts coincide with "later marriage, greater information access and increased reproductive choice" among the state population.
A deep rural-urban divide remains. Urban Meghalaya holds a TFR of 1.3 while rural regions report 2.4. Paradoxically, rural women use modern contraceptives at a higher rate of 31.5 per cent than their urban counterparts at 24.4 per cent. Expanded health services and insurance coverage, which now reaches 74.9 per cent of households, are likely bolstering these outcomes. The state now faces the task of balancing these smaller family sizes with better health, education, and economic prospects for women.
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