Yes — a clear inverse relationship. As female literacy rises across the six states, the fertility rate falls. Here is the data of Fig. 6.11, arranged in order of female literacy so the pattern is visible:
| State/UT | Literacy rate among women (%) | Fertility rate | Above or below replacement (2.1)? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bihar | 55 | 3.0 | Above |
| Jharkhand | 61.7 | 2.3 | Above |
| Uttar Pradesh | 66.1 | 2.4 | Above |
| Karnataka | 73.4 | 1.7 | Below |
| Punjab | 79.4 | 1.6 | Below |
| Delhi | 83.7 | 1.6 | Below |
Observations, with the arithmetic:
- Every state with female literacy below 70 per cent is above the replacement level of 2.1. Every state above 70 per cent is below it. The line falls almost exactly where the replacement level does.
- Across the six states, literacy rises by 83.7 − 55 = 28.7 percentage points while fertility falls by 3.0 − 1.6 = 1.4 children. That works out at
1.4 ÷ 28.7 × 10 = about 0.5 fewer children per 10-point rise in female literacy
- Bihar’s average woman has 3.0 children against Delhi’s 1.6 — that is 3.0 ÷ 1.6 = 1.9 times as many, almost double.
- One case does not fit neatly. Jharkhand has lower female literacy than Uttar Pradesh (61.7 against 66.1) but also a slightly lower fertility rate (2.3 against 2.4). So literacy is clearly not the only thing at work.
Possible reasons — the chapter gives three, and each is a mechanism, not just a correlation:
- Later marriage. A girl who stays in school marries later, so her child-bearing years begin later and are shorter. Fewer years of child-bearing means fewer children even if nothing else changes.
- Formal work. Educated women “are working in formal jobs”, and a job outside the home competes directly with the time and years that a large family needs.
- The cost of urban living. With rapid urbanisation, the cost of living is high, particularly in cities — so people prefer smaller families. Delhi, the most urban unit in the table, has both the highest literacy and the joint-lowest fertility.
A fourth mechanism follows from the chapter’s section on mortality: educated mothers use health services more, so more of their children survive — and where children survive, parents need fewer births to end up with the family size they want.
Sample report (the shape your own report should take — a title, the data, two or three observations, the reasons, and a closing sentence):
Fertility and female literacy in six Indian states. Fig. 6.11 gives the fertility rate and female literacy rate for six states and Union Territories. The two indicators move in opposite directions: Bihar has the lowest female literacy (55 per cent) and the highest fertility (3.0), while Delhi has the highest literacy (83.7 per cent) and the joint-lowest fertility (1.6). The three states with literacy below 70 per cent are all above the replacement level of 2.1; the three above 70 per cent are all below it. Roughly, every 10-point gain in female literacy goes with about half a child less. The likely reasons are that educated girls marry later, are more likely to take formal jobs, and use health services more, so that more of their children survive; and that families in expensive cities choose to be smaller. Jharkhand is a partial exception — its literacy is lower than Uttar Pradesh’s but its fertility is lower too — which is a reminder that income, urbanisation and access to health care also matter.