Male-female ratio at birth widening

The male-female ratio at birth is found to have increased with more male than females. The results of national census 2022 made public on Friday showed that 52.8 percent of male and 47.3 percent of females were born in a period of one year.

According to the census, a total of 412,935 children were born within a year of which 218,074 are male and 194,861 are female. During the 10 years of the census period, a total of 6,145,039 married women aged 15-49 have given birth to 12,799,969 children.

Likewise, 12 percent of the total married women have not given birth to a child while the number of women who have given birth to two children is 33 percent. Married women who give birth to only one child are 23.1 percent, while women who give birth to nine or more children are 0.1 percent.

The national census also shows that 34.4 percent of the people had their first marriage between the ages of 18 and 20 while 22.3 percent married for the first time between the ages of 15 and 17. The number of people who had their first marriage under the age of 10 years is 0.3 percent. Similarly, 7 percent of people got married for the first time between the age of 10-14 years. Overall, the average age at first marriage is 19 years, including 21 of men and 18 for women.

Similarly, out of 12,976 female deaths in the reproductive age group (15-49 years), 653 deaths (five percent) are related to pregnancy. Among them, 622 deaths (95 percent) are related to maternal deaths, according to the census.

According to the results, the child mortality rate is 151 (per 100,000 live births).