POLITICS & SOCIETY

Children in India
 Table of Contents

01 Overview Malnourished children based on height-for-age index India 2019-2021, by area 21

Malnourished children based on weight-for-height index India 2019-2021, by area 22
Budget for children in India 2013-2023 04
Malnourished children based on weight-for-age index India 2019-2021, by area 23
Population of children in India 2011, by gender 05
Anaemia among 6-59-month-olds in India 2019-2021, by age and hemoglobin level 24
Expenses on children's education in India 2017-2023 06
Anaemia among 6-59-month-olds India 2019-2021, by area and hemoglobin level 25
Expenses spent on children's health in India 2017-2023 07
Funding required to respond to humanitarian crisis of children India 2022, by sector 08
05 Child mortality

02 Education Mortality rate among infants in India 2019, by birth stage 27

Number of deaths among children during the first five years India 2019 28
Educational attainment of girls in India 2021, by years of schooling 10
Under-five mortality rate in India 2021, by gender 29
Educational attainment of boys in India 2021, by level of schooling 11
Share of children attending school in India 2021, by gender and age 12
06 Crime & violence
Share of children attending school in India 2021, by area 13
Reasons for not attending school among children in India 2021, by gender 14 Reported rate of crime against children in India 2021, by state 31
Trafficking girls as a share of total children trafficked India 2015-2021 32

03 Key health indicators Reported child marriage as share of total crime against children India 2015-2021 33
Sexual crime against girls as a share of total crime against children India 2015-2021 34
Share of children under five with symptoms of ARI India 2019-2021, by age in months 16
Number of missing children India 2015-2021 35
Share of children under five with diarrhea in India 2019-2021 by age in months 17
Share of 12-23 months-old vaccinated children in India 2015-2021 18
07 Protection
Distribution of live births by size of child in India 2019-2021 19
Underage marriage rates among female children in India 2014-2020 37

04 Nutrition & anaemia Children's rights under the law in India 2019, by gender 38

1
 Table of Contents

Child victims of trafficking in India 2020, by gender 39

Calls regarding abuse and violence in India 2019-2020 40

2
CHAPTER 01

Overview
 Budget for children in India from 2013 to 2023
Budget for children in India 2013-2023

Share of budget
0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% 3.0% 3.5% 4.0% 4.5% 5.0%

2013 4.76%

2014 4.64%

2015 4.52%

2016 3.26%

2017 3.32%

2018 3.32%

2019 3.24%

2020 3.29%

2021 3.16%

2022 2.46%

2023 2.35%

4 Description: In India, the Union Budget 2022-23 share for children amounted to approximately two percent. By contrast in 2013, the share of budget allocation for children accounted for around almost five percent of the total union budget. Read more
Note(s): India; 2012 to 2022
Source(s): Business Today; HAQ Centre for Child Rights
 Child population in India in 2011, by gender (in millions)
Population of children in India 2011, by gender

180
164.51
160

140
Child population in millions

120

100
85.75
78.76
80

60

40

20

0
Male Female Total

5 Description: In India, the total child population amounted to just over 164 million in 2011. In particular, there were about 86 million male children and close to 79 million female children during the same time period. Read more
Note(s): India; 2011
Source(s): Ministry of Home Affairs (India)
 Total expenditure for children's education in India from 2017 to 2023
Expenses on children's education in India 2017-2023

Share of expenditure
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

2017-18 64.41%

2018-19 62.68%

2019-20 65%

2020-21 66.14%

2021-22* 62.54%

2021-22** 63.92%

2022-23* 64.71%

6 Description: In India, from 2022 to 2023, the share of expenses for children's education amounted to approximately 65 percent. In the previous year, the expenditure for education accounted for roughly 64 percent. The highest share was over 66 percent in 2021. Read
more
Note(s): India; 2017 to 2022; * Budget estimates. ** Revised estimates. Read more
Source(s): MHRD (India); UNICEF
 Total expenses on children's health in India from 2017 to 2023
Expenses spent on children's health in India 2017-2023

Share of expenses
0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% 3.0% 3.5% 4.0% 4.5% 5.0%

2017-18 3.76%

2018-19 4.33%

2019-20 3.95%

2020-21 4.71%

2021-22* 4.34%

2021-22** 4.23%

2022-23* 3.78%

7 Description: In India, in the union budget for 2022-23, the total share for children's health amounted to just under 3.8 percent. In the previous year, health expenses for children accounted for a budget share of approximately 4.23 percent. Read more
Note(s): India; 2017 to 2022; * Budget estimates. ** Revised estimates. Read more
Source(s): Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India); UNICEF
 Funding requirements of UNICEF to respond to humanitarian crisis of
children in India in 2022, by sector (in million U.S. dollars)
Funding required to respond to humanitarian crisis of children India 2022, by sector

35%

29.98%
30%
Value of funds in million U.S. dollars

25%

20%

15%
11.81% 11.6%

10%
6.62% 6.03%
4.64%
5% 3.59%
2.32%

0%
Health Water, sanitation Nutrition Education Child protection Cross-sectoral Emergency Social protection
and hygiene and GBVIE costs (HCT, C4D, preparedness
RCCE, AAP and
PSEA)

8 Description: In 2022, around 77 million U.S. dollars of funds were required by UNICEF to respond to humanitarian crisis of children in India. The majority of funds were required for COVID-19 response in the south Asian country. Read more
Note(s): India; 2022; estimated figures.
Source(s): UNICEF
CHAPTER 02

Education
 Educational attainment of de facto female children aged between six and
19 in India as of April 2021, by years of schooling
Educational attainment of girls in India 2021, by years of schooling

No schooling Under 5 years 5-7 years 8-9 years 10-11 years 12 or more years
100%
92.9%
90%

80%
Share of female children

70%

60%
51.7%
50%

40%
31.6% 31.1%
28%
30%
20.9%
20% 17.1%
9.9%
10% 6.4%
2.7% 4.3%
0.6% 0.4% 2.2%
0% 0% 0% 0%
0%
Age 6-9 Age 10-14 Age 15-19

10 Description: As of April 2021, just over 20 percent of female children between the ages of 15 and 19 in India completed at least 12 years of schooling. On the other hand, approximately four percent of girls in this age group did not attend school. Meanwhile, the share
of female children not receiving any schooling amounted to roughly six percent among those aged six to nine years and almost three percent among those aged 10 to 14 years. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; 6-19 years; female children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Educational attainment of de facto male children in India as of April 2021,
by level of schooling
Educational attainment of boys in India 2021, by level of schooling

No schooling Under 5 years complete 5-7 years complete 8-9 years complete 10-11 years complete 12 or more years complete
100%
93%
90%

80%

70%
Share of male children

60%
50.7%
50%

40%
30.8% 32.7% 31.7%
30%
19.2%
20% 15.8%
10.5%
10% 6.4%
2.3% 3.4% 2.6%
0.6% 0% 0% 0% 0.3% 0%
0%
Age 6-9 Age 10-14 Age 15-19

11 Description: As of April 2021, just under 20 percent of male children aged between 15 and 19 years in India completed at least 12 years of schooling. In comparison, approximately three percent of boys in this age group did not attend school. Meanwhile, the share of
male children not receiving any schooling amounted to roughly six percent among those aged six to nine years and over two percent among those aged 10 to 14. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; 6-19 years; male children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Share of children attending school in India as of April 2021, by gender and
age
Share of children attending school in India 2021, by gender and age

Male Female
100% 95% 94.7% 94.4% 93.9% 93.4% 92.6%
90%
83.2% 81.6%
80%
67.7%
70%
62.6%
Share of children

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Primary (6-10 years) Elementary (6-13 years) Upper primary (11-13 years) Secondary (14-15 years) Higher secondary (16-17 years)

12 Description: As of April 2021, respectively 95 and 94.7 percent of male and female children aged six to 17 years in urban India attended primary school. In general, a higher share of boys attended school compared to their female counterparts in their respective age
groups. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; 6-17 years; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Share of children attending school in India from June 2019 to April 2021,
by area
Share of children attending school in India 2021, by area

100%
90.4%
90% 86.1%

80%

70%
Share of children

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Urban Rural

13 Description: As of April 2021, just over 90 percent of children aged six to 17 in urban India attended school. In comparison, a lower share of children in the same age group residing in rural India attended school, representing approximately only 86.1 percent. Read
more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; 6-17 years; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Reasons for not attending school among children aged six to 17 in India as
of April 2021, by gender
Reasons for not attending school among children in India 2021, by gender

Share of children

Female Male

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Not interested in studies 21.4%

35.7%
Costs too much 20.6%
16.1%
Required for household work 13.3%
9.8%
Required for outside work for payment in cash or kind 2.5%
6.2%
Repeated failures 3.9%
5.3%
Did not not admission 4.8%
5%
Required for work on farm/family business 2.3%
4.4%
Further education not considered necessary 3.8%
3.7%
School too far away 6.2%
2.3%
Transport not available 1.5%
0.7%
Due to disaster/ natural calamity 0.5%
0.5%
Required for care of siblings 0.7%
0.4%
Got married 6.8%
0.3%
No proper school facilities for girls 1.7%
0.2%

14 Description: As of April 2021, the major reason for not attending school among children aged six to 17 years in India was the lack of interest in studies, representing 35.7 percent of male children and 21.4 percent of female children. A majority of children in this age
group did not attend school also because of high costs and because they were needed for household and outside work. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; 6-17 years; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
CHAPTER 03

Key health indicators

 Share of children aged under five with symptoms of acute respiratory
infection (ARI) from June 2019 to April 2021, by age in months
Share of children under five with symptoms of ARI India 2019-2021, by age in months

Share of children
0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 2.5% 3.0% 3.5% 4.0%

Under 6 months 3%

6-11 months 3.7%

12-23 montths 3.3%

24-35 months 2.7%

36-47 months 2.5%

48-59 months 2.1%

16 Description: From June 2019 to April 2021, around four percent of children in India aged 6 to 11 months presented with symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI). Out of a total of approximately 222 thousand children under five, there were 2.8 percent with ARI
symptoms during the survey period. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Share of children under five years with symptoms of diarrhea from 2019
to 2021, by age in months
Share of children under five with diarrhea in India 2019-2021 by age in months

14%
12.8%

12%

10%
10%
Share of children

8%
8%
6.7%

6% 5.3%
4.3%
4%

2%

0%
Under 6 months 6-11 months 12-23 montths 24-35 months 36-47 months 48-59 months

17 Description: From June 2019 to April 2021, just under 13 percent out of over 21.8 thousand children aged six to 11 months had diarrhea. Out of a total of approximately 222.23 thousand children under five, over seven percent presented with diarrhea symptoms
during the survey period. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Children aged 12 to 23 months receiving all basic vaccinations from 2015
to 2021
Share of 12-23 months-old vaccinated children in India 2015-2021

90%

80% 76.6%

70%
62%
60%
Share of children

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
2015-16 2019-21

18 Description: From June 2019 to April 2021, approximately 77 percent of children aged 12 to 23 months received all basic vaccinations,which was equivalent to over 43.25 thousand children. The basic vaccination rate among 12 to 23 months-olds from 2015 to 2016
amounted to 62 percent representing nearly 49 thousand children. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Percentage distribution of all live births by size of child at birth in India
from 2019 to 2021
Distribution of live births by size of child in India 2019-2021

Very small Smaller than average Average or larger Don't know or missing
100%

86.5% 88.5% 87.3%

90%

80%

70%
Share of children

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%
8.9% 7.9% 7.8%
10%
3.3% 2.5% 2.9% 2%
1.2% 1.2%
0%
Mother under 20 years Mother 20-34 years Mother 35-49 years

19 Description: From June 2019 to April 2021, approximately 89 percent of infants born alive to mothers in India aged 20 to 34 weighed average or larger. Meanwhile, among mothers aged under 20, a higher percentage of very small infants and infants smaller than
average was recorded, compared to older mothers. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
CHAPTER 04

Nutrition & anaemia

 Number of malnourished children aged under five years based on height-
for-age index from 2019 to 2021, by area (in 1,000s)
Malnourished children based on height-for-age index India 2019-2021, by area

160%
149.26%

140%
Number of children in thousands

120%

100%

80%

60% 52.02%

40%

20%

0%
Rural Urban

21 Description: As of April 2021, nearly 150 thousand children aged under five in rural India were classified as malnourish based on the anthropometric index of height-for-age. Meanwhile, just over 52 thousand children under five years in urban India were malnourished
in terms of height-for-age. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Number of malnourished children aged under five years based on weight-
for-height index from 2019 to 2021, by area (in 1,000s)
Malnourished children based on weight-for-height index India 2019-2021, by area

160%
146.46%

140%
Number of children in thousands

120%

100%

80%

60% 50.86%

40%

20%

0%
Rural Urban

22 Description: As of April 2021, over 146 thousand children aged under five in rural India were classified as malnourish based on the anthropometric index of weight-for-height. Meanwhile, nearly 51 thousand children under five years in urban India were malnourished
in terms of weight-for-height. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Number of malnourished children aged under five years based on weight-
for-age index from 2019 to 2021, by area (in 1,000s)
Malnourished children based on weight-for-age index India 2019-2021, by area

180%

160% 152.43%

140%
Number of children in thousands

120%

100%

80%

60% 53.21%

40%

20%

0%
Rural Urban

23 Description: As of April 2021, over 152 thousand children aged under five in rural India were classified as malnourished based on the anthropometric index of weight-for-age. Meanwhile, over 53.2 thousand children under five years in urban India were malnourished
in terms of weight-for-age. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Share of children aged six to 59 months with anemia from 2019 to 2021,
by age and hemoglobin level
Anaemia among 6-59-month-olds in India 2019-2021, by age and hemoglobin level

Share of children

Severe (<7.0 g/dl) Moderate (7.0-9.9 g/dl) Mild (10.0-10.9 g/dl)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

2%
6-9 months 44.2%
29%
3.1%
9-11 months 48.1%
27.5%
3.5%
12-17 montths 50.3%
26.3%
3.5%
18-23 months 46.8%
27.9%
2.4%
24-35 months 38.7%
29.4%
1.4%
36-47 months 28.6%
31%
0.8%
48-59 months 22.6%
30%

24 Description: As of April 2021, just over half of the children aged 12 to 17 months had moderate levels of anaemia. In total, there were approximately 80 percent of 12-to-17-months-old children with anaemia, representing over 17 thousand children. Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
 Share of children aged six to 59 months with anemia from June 2019 to
April 2021, by area and hemoglobin level
Anaemia among 6-59-month-olds India 2019-2021, by area and hemoglobin level

Mild (10.0-10.9 g/dl) Moderate (7.0-9.9 g/dl) Severe (<7.0 g/dl)

40%
36.9%

35% 33.1%

29% 29.3%
30%
Share of children

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%
2.2% 2.1%

0%
Urban Rural

25 Description: From June 2019 to April 2021, nearly 34 percent of children aged six to 59 months in rural India had moderate anemia. In total, there were approximately 68 percent of six-to-59-months-old children with anemia, representing nearly 110 thousand children.
Read more
Note(s): India; June 2019 to April 2021; children from 636,699 households
Source(s): NFHS
CHAPTER 05

Child mortality
 Mortality rate among infants in India in 2019, by birth stage (deaths in
1,000s live births)
Mortality rate among infants in India 2019, by birth stage

40

34.3
35
Deaths per one thousand live births

30 28.3

25
21.7

20

15 13.9

10

0
Stillbirth rate Neonatal mortality rate Infant mortality rate Under-5 mortality rate

27 Description: In 2019, the infant mortality rate in India amounted to just over 28 deaths per one thousand live births. Meanwhile, there were approximately 14 stillbirths per one thousand births in India that year. Read more
Note(s): India; 2019
Source(s): UNICEF
 Annual number of deaths among children during the first five years in
India in 2019 (in 1,000s)
Number of deaths among children during the first five years India 2019

900
824.45
800

700
Number of deaths in thousands

600
522.25
500

400
340.62

300

200

100

0
Under-five deaths Neonatal deaths Stillbirths

28 Description: In 2019, the number of deaths among children aged under five years in India amounted to nearly 825 thousand. Meanwhile, there were approximately 340.6 thousand stillbirths across the country that year. Read more
Note(s): India; 2019
Source(s): UNICEF
 Under-five mortality rate in India in 2021, by gender (per 1,000 births)
Under-five mortality rate in India 2021, by gender

35
31
30
30
Deaths per one thousand live births

25

20

15

10

0
Female Male

29 Description: In 2021, the under-five mortality rate among female children in India amounted to just under 31 deaths per thousand live births. This was slightly lower among male children under five years old for the same time period. Read more
Note(s): India; 2021
Source(s): UNICEF
CHAPTER 06

Crime & violence

 Rate of crime against children reported in India in 2021, by state
Reported rate of crime against children in India 2021, by state

Crime rate
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Delhi
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Lakshadweep
Sikkim
Chandigarh
Madhya Pradesh
Haryana
Chhattisgarh
Odisha
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Telangana
Kerala
Maharashtra
Assam
Goa

31 Description: In India in 2021, the crime rate against children in the capital territory of Delhi was at 128.5 per 100,000 children. This was followed by the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar with 110 reported cases per 100,000 child population. Read more
Note(s): India; 2021
Source(s): NCRB (India)
 Trafficking girls as a share of total children trafficked in India from 2015 to
2021
Trafficking girls as a share of total children trafficked India 2015-2021

60%
54.36%

49.64%
50%
45.4%
42.38%
38.46% 39.29%
Share of trafficking girls

40% 38.03%

30%

20%

10%

0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

32 Description: In 2021, trafficking of girls accounted for 45.4 percent of the total cases of child trafficking in India. It was a notable increase compared to the figures obtained in 2018. Trafficking of minors is a serious and punishable offense recognized by the constitution
of India. Read more
Note(s): India
Source(s): Ministry of Home Affairs (India); MOSPI
 Reported child marriage cases as a share of total crime against children in
India from 2015 to 2021
Reported child marriage as share of total crime against children India 2015-2021

0.8%

0.7%
0.7%
0.61%
0.6%

0.5%
Share of cases

0.4%
0.35% 0.35%
0.31% 0.3% 0.31%
0.3%

0.2%

0.1%

0.0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

33 Description: In 2021, reported child marriage cases accounted for 0.7 percent of the total crime committed against children in India. In the last few years, this number went through a major change. Child marriage is illegal in India as per the Child Marriage Restraint
Act of 1929. Read more
Note(s): India; 2015 to 2021
Source(s): Ministry of Home Affairs (India); MOSPI
 Sexual crime against girls as a share of total crime against children in India
from 2015 to 2021
Sexual crime against girls as a share of total crime against children India 2015-2021

45%
40.28%
38.63% 39.22%
40% 37.42%
36.11%
34.83%
35% 32.33%

30%
Share of crime

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

34 Description: In 2021, sexual crime against girls in India accounted for nearly 39 percent of the total crime committed against children. A slight decline in this crime rate was seen from the previous year. The disproportionate number of crimes against female children in
the country is a result of several psychological and patriarchal reasons. Read more
Note(s): India; 2015 to 2021
Source(s): Ministry of Home Affairs (India); MOSPI
 Number of missing children in India from 2015 to 2021
Number of missing children India 2015-2021

90,000

80,000 77,535
73,885

70,000 67,134
63,407 63,349
Number of missing children

60,443 59,262
60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

0
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

35 Description: In 2021, more than 77 thousand children in India were missing. In comparison to previous year, the number of missing children in the country increased significantly. Many of these cases were likely to have close links to human trafficking and child labor.
Read more
Note(s): India; 2015 to 2021
Source(s): Ministry of Home Affairs (India); MOSPI
CHAPTER 07

Protection
 Share of female children married underage in India from 2014 to 2020
Underage marriage rates among female children in India 2014-2020

30%
27%

25%
Share of female children

20%

15%

10%
7%

5%

0%
Married by 15 Married by 18

37 Description: In India, the underage marriage rate among female children of 15 years or younger amounted to seven percent from 2014 to 2020. During the same period, approximately 27 percent of female children got married by the age of 18 across the country.
Read more
Note(s): India; 2014-2020
Source(s): UNICEF
 Children's rights under the law in India in 2019, by gender
Children's rights under the law in India 2019, by gender

Girls Boys
25

21

20
18 18 18

15 14 14
Years of age

10

6 6

0
Minimum age for marriage Age of consent for sex Legal working age Compulsory age of schooling*

38 Description: In India, the minimum age for marriage for girls was 18, whereas the minimum legal age for boys to get married was 21. Other than the minimum age for marriage, the minimum age of consent for sex, the minimum legal working age, and the compulsory
age of schooling for both boys and girls were the same in India. Read more
Note(s): India; 2019; * Compulsory age of schooling was six to 14 years for both girls and boys. Read more
Source(s): ECPAT International
 Number of child trafficking victims in India in 2020, by gender
Child victims of trafficking in India 2020, by gender

1,600

1,377
1,400

1,200
Number of children

1,000
845
800

600

400

200

0
Boys Girls

39 Description: In 2020, there were close to 1.4 thousand boys who were victims of human trafficking in India. Meanwhile, the number of girl victims of human trafficking across the country was smaller, with 845 during the same time period. Read more
Note(s): India; 2020
Source(s): ECPAT International
 Share of calls regarding abuse and violence in India in from April 2019 to
March 2020
Calls regarding abuse and violence in India 2019-2020

40%

35% 34%

30%

25%
Share of calls

20%

15% 13%

10%

5%

0%
Child marriage Sexual abuse

40 Description: From April 2019 to March 2020, approximately 34 percent of calls regarding abuse and violence received by the helpline of Childline India Foundation were about child abuse, whereas 13 percent were about sexual abuse. During that period, the helpline
received approximately 75 thousand calls regarding abuse and violence across the country. Read more
Note(s): India; April 2019 to March 2020
Source(s): ChildLine; ECPAT International
 Sources

Business Today
ChildLine
ECPAT International
HAQ Centre for Child Rights
MHRD (India)
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India)
Ministry of Home Affairs (India)
MOSPI
NCRB (India)
NFHS
UNICEF

41