By: Express News ServiceNew Delhi | September 16, 2025 05:55 AM IST 2 min readSex ratio serves as a social indicator of gender equality within a society, with a ratio of 1,000 denoting an equal number of male and female births (Representational)Sex ratio at birth in the national capital has continued to fall since the pandemic, with the number of females per 1,000 males falling from 922 in 2023 to 920 in 2024, according to a government report. The figure was 933 in 2020, according to the report.The Annual Report on Registration of Births and Deaths in Delhi has been released by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics and the Office of Chief Registrar (Births & Deaths) of the Delhi government, for 2024.Sex ratio serves as a social indicator of gender equality within a society, with a ratio of 1,000 denoting an equal number of male and female births. Ratios above 1,000 indicate more females than males, while ratios below 1,000 signify a deficit of females.“The dip in the sex ratio is not small. One per cent fall in sex ratio at birth means a dip of almost 1,800 females,” said Sabu George, a researcher and activist. “There are still clinics in Delhi carrying out sex determination and abortion,” he said. Even as birth rates continued to fall, according to the report, death rates have risen. While birth rates dropped to 14 per thousand of population during 2024 as against 14.66 in 2023, the death rate per thousand of population rose to 6.37 during 2024 from 6.16 in 2023. A falling birth rate means fewer babies are being born each year per 1,000 people, while a rising death rate means more people are dying each year per 1,000 people.Out of the total births in the city, 2,94,464 (96.09%) were institutional and 11,995 (3.91%) domiciliary in nature.“Age-group of the mother at the time of delivery was analyzed and it was revealed that in maximum (36.98%) cases, it was 25-29 years followed by 27.11% cases in 20-24 years group and in 24.57% cases, the age of mother was 30-34 years. Further, it is observed that in 2.57% cases, the age of mother was even 19 years or less,” the report notes.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Delhi sex ratio