‘Millions unable to realise reproductive goals': UNFPA State of World Population Report 2025 reveals crisis of fertility aspirations
'Vast numbers of people are unable to create the families they want,' Dr Natalia Kanem, executive director of UNFPA, told reporters at a virtual media conference. 'The issue is lack of choice, not desire, with major consequences for individuals and societies. That is the real fertility crisis, and the answer lies in responding to what people say they need: paid family leave, affordable fertility care, and supportive partners,' Kanem said.
This year's report, 'The real fertility crisis: The pursuit of reproductive agency in a changing world' has called for a shift from panic over falling fertility to addressing unmet reproductive goals. SOWP 2025 underlines that millions of individuals are unable to realise their real fertility goals. This is the real crisis, not underpopulation or overpopulation. And, the answer lies in greater reproductive agency – a person's ability to make free and informed choices about sex, contraception, and starting a family.
The report draws on academic research and new data from a UNFPA–YouGov survey spanning 14 countries, including India. The report finds that one in five people globally expect not to have the number of children they desire. Key drivers include the prohibitive cost of parenthood, job insecurity, housing, concerns over the state of the world, and the lack of a suitable partner. A toxic blend of economic precarity and sexism plays a role in many of these issues, the report shows.
Barriers include financial limitation, housing constraints
Key findings from the UNFPA–YouGov Survey 2025, an online poll with 14,000 respondents, reveal multiple barriers to reproductive autonomy in India. Financial limitations are one of the biggest barriers to reproductive freedom. Nearly four in 10 people say financial limitations are stopping them from having the families they want. Job insecurity (21%), housing constraints (22%), and the lack of reliable childcare (18%) are making parenthood feel out of reach.
Health barriers like poor general well-being (15%), infertility (13%), and limited access to pregnancy-related care (14%) add further strain. Many are also holding back due to growing anxiety about the future—from climate change to political and social instability. Nineteen per cent faced partner or family pressure to have fewer children than they personally wanted.
Trends need deeper investigation
The report challenges global narratives around 'population explosion' versus 'population collapse'. Replacement-level fertility, commonly defined as 2.1 births per woman, is the rate at which a population size remains the same from one generation to the next. While India may have reached replacement-level fertility of 2.0, many people, especially women, still face significant barriers to making free and informed decisions about their reproductive lives and significant disparities persist across regions and states. These barriers create what the report identifies as India's 'high fertility and low fertility duality.
According to Professor T V Sekher from the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, the real worry is the decline in population size instead of concern over population explosion. 'The possibility of population extinction is getting attention now. Low fertility is inevitable, and India is no exception. A large number of urban Indian couples prefer only one child, irrespective of boy or girl. Fertility will go down further. Efforts taken by many countries to boost their fertility levels did not succeed. China is a classic example in recent times,' he said.
Dr S Iruduya Rajan, chairperson of the Institute of Migration and Development, Kerala, observed that the concerns raised in the latest report are highly relevant to India. 'Based on my understanding, at least 10% of couples in India face difficulties in conceiving, which is evident from the rapid increase in fertility clinics across urban areas. Additionally, around 10% of newly married young couples are uncertain about whether to have children now or delay parenthood,' Dr Rajan said.
'It is important to understand the reasons behind this hesitation—what factors are demotivating them from starting a family. Furthermore, about 30% of couples stop at having just one child, even though they may have the desire for a second. These trends need deeper investigation to understand the social, economic, and personal factors influencing such decisions,' he added.
'Deep inequalities across states, castes, income groups'
In the 1970s, women on average had nearly five children. Now, they have close to two. This milestone reflects progress in health and education, but masks regional diversity in the Total Fertility Rate, which is the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime.
Andrea M Wojnar, UNFPA India Representative, explained that thanks to improved education and access to reproductive healthcare, India has made progress in lowering fertility rates. 'However, deep inequalities persist across states, castes, and income groups,' she said. Fertility has fallen below the replacement level (2.1) in 31 states/UTs, but remains high in Bihar (3.0), Meghalaya (2.9), and Uttar Pradesh (2.7).
Urban-rural gaps persist, and seven states have yet to reach replacement TFR in rural areas. In Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Delhi, many couples delay or skip childbirth due to costs and work-life conflict, especially among educated middle-class women.
This duality reflects differences in economic opportunities, access to healthcare, education levels, and prevailing gender and social norms. 'The real demographic dividend comes when everyone has the freedom and means to make informed reproductive choices. India has a unique opportunity to show how reproductive rights and economic prosperity can advance together,' Wojnar added.
Limited infertility services in public sector
Infertility remains under-prioritised in India and needs to be considered for inclusion under the government's health insurance schemes. An estimated 27.5 million Indian couples face infertility, yet public sector services are limited, while private care remains expensive and largely confined to urban centres. Social stigma is particularly harsh on women, though fertility challenges affect both sexes as per the report.
UNFPA's vision for India calls for 'demographic resilience'—societies' ability to adapt to population change without sacrificing human rights.
The report outlines five key pillars for India's rights-based approach. These include expanding sexual reproductive health services with universal access to contraception, safe abortion, maternal health, and infertility care, removing structural barriers by investing in childcare, education, housing, and workplace flexibility, promoting inclusive policies, extending services to unmarried individuals, LGBTQIA+ persons, and other marginalised groups, improving data and accountability beyond fertility rates to measure unmet family planning needs and bodily autonomy, and fostering social change through community initiatives challenging stigma and building health literacy.
Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition.
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