Andhra Pradesh records highest number of married people: SRS survey

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of married people in India followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal while Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have the lowest. The national average of married people was reported at 46.8% of the total population, states the 2017 sample registration survey (SRS) of 2017.

SRS is the largest demographic survey, ahead of the 2021 Census, in which about 7.9 million people were covered in the sample. Bihar (56.7%), followed by Uttar Pradesh (55.2%) reported the highest percentage of the population who were “never married”. During the sample survey, Bihar recorded 60.4% of its males and 52.6% of its females under the “never married” category, while UP reported 59% of males and 51% of females under this category.

The national average for those who “never married” was 49.5% with 54% males and 44.6% females. Delhi scored above the national average at 50.8% in this category while the number of married people in the capital was 46.2%, which is below the national average.


The proportion of widowed, divorced and separated (WDS) female population is higher than males at the national level as well as in all the bigger states. In the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, there was a significant gap of more than 8 percentage points between the male and female population of WDS. While Kerala and Tamil Nadu reported 9.7% and 9% of its female population as WDS, the male percentage in these two states was 1.2% and 2.4% respectively. The lowest WDS was recorded in Jammu and Kashmir where the female percentage was 3.2 while it was 1.2 for males, compared to the national average of 5.9% for females and 1.7% for males, the report states.

A comparison of India’s population in the 15-59 age group reveals that 63.8% of the work force resides in rural areas while 68.6% is in urban areas. In rural areas, the percentage varies from 58.3% in Bihar (lowest) to 69.9% in Telangana (highest). In urban areas, the same varies from 62.2% in Bihar (lowest) to 72% in Andhra Pradesh (highest). The proportion of economically active people (15-59 years) has increased from 53.4% to 56.3% during 1971 to 1981 and 57.7% to 65.4% from 1991to 2017, it states.

On account of better education, health facilities and increase in life expectancy, the percentage of elderly population (60+ years) has gone up from 5.3% to 5.7% from 1971 to 1981 and 6% to 8.2% from 1991 to 2017.