MoSPI Children in India 2025 Report Highlights Lower Mortality, Rising Enrolment, and Continuing Challenges
SDG 3: Good Health & Well-being | SDG 4: Quality Education
Institutions: Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation | Ministry of Women & Child Development | Ministry of Education
The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released Children in India 2025, a comprehensive statistical profile on child health, education, and protection. The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) declined to 25 in 2023 (male: 26, female: 25), while the Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR) stood at 29 per 1,000 live births (rural: 33, urban: 20). The birth rate in 2023 was 18.4 per 1,000 population (rural: 20.3, urban: 14.9).
Education indicators show progress: dropout rates in 2024–25 fell to 2.3% at the preparatory stage, 3.5% at the middle level, and 8.2% at secondary. The Gender Parity Index (GPI) based on enrolment confirms parity across all stages, with the secondary level at 1.1. On social protection, child marriage among women aged 20–24 fell from 26.8% (2015–16) to 23.3% (2019–21). Adoptions increased to 4,515 in 2024–25, of which 4,155 were in-country (2,336 female, 1,819 male).
The report identifies critical gaps in rural mortality, secondary retention, and early marriage, offering a data base for refining Poshan 2.0, Samagra Shiksha, and Mission Vatsalya. It reinforces the need for district-level convergence between health, education, and protection systems to convert gains into sustained child well-being.
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): Number of infants dying before age one per 1,000 live births in a year.
Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR): Probability per 1,000 live births that a child dies before reaching age five.
Dropout Rate: Share of students leaving school before completing a given stage (primary, middle, secondary).
Gender Parity Index (GPI): Ratio of female to male enrolment; a value near 1 indicates parity.
Follow the full report here: