'Replacement level' of a population is based on the calculation of :
(1) Sex-ratio
(2) Death rates
(3) Total fertility rates
(4) Birth rates
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Total fertility rates
Option (3) Total fertility rates — Correct. The replacement level is the rate of growth required for new generations to replace the older ones that are dying out, and it is read from the total fertility rate (TFR), the number of children the average woman produces. Where the TFR is 1.7, the average woman produces only 1.7 children, which is below the ‘replacement level’, and the population is going to decline.
NCERT (2025-26): “2.1 Some Theories and Concepts in Demography … The rate of natural increase or the growth rate of population refers to the difference between the birth rate and the death rate. When this difference is zero (or, in practice, very small) then we say that the population has ‘stabilised’, or has reached the ‘replacement level’, which is the rate of growth required for new generations to replace the older ones that are dying out.…” “…Some states, like Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have managed to bring down their total fertility rates (TFR) to 1.7 each (2016). This means that the average woman in these states produces only 1.7 children, which is below the ‘replacement level’ and Kerala’s TFR is also below the replacement level, which means that the population is going to decline in future.…” |