Sex ratio in Arunachal improves

[1]

The sex ratio in Arunachal Pradesh has improved to 920 females per 1000 males, up from 893 a decade ago, as per the provisional census report of 2011.

The lowest sex ratio is in Tawang where the number of females was only 701 against 1000 males though for the 0-6 years age group the number is a 'very encouraging' 1005.

The provisional report, released here on Monday, put the total population of the Himalayan state at 13,82,611 marking an increase of 2,84,643 as compared to the 2001 census.

The decadal population growth of the state was 25.92 per cent during 2001-2011, which is more than the national growth rate that stood at 17.64 per cent, the report said.

The provisional census put the number of males at 7,20,232 males 6,62,379 females.

The district-wise break-up showed Papum Pare as the most populous district with 1,76,385 people, followed by Changlang with 1,47,951 while Dibang Valley was at the bottom with just 7,948 people which is also the lowest in the country.

In the literacy front, the paper revealed a jump in the rate at 66.96 per cent - an approximately 13 per cent decadal increase though this is the second lowest rate in the country after Bihar's 63.82 per cent.

The most literate district in the state is again Papum Pare with 82.14 per cent, while the least literate one is Kurung Kumey with 50.67 per cent where the female literacy rate is 44.31 per cent.

“Though the absolute numbers showed a low achievement rate for the state, the trends especially in increase in literacy rate, both male and female, displayed an encouraging trend”, nodal officer and secretary, Economics and Statistics, Ankur Garg said.

The decadal increase in literacy rate for females at 16 per cent was also very encouraging despite the low absolute figure, he added.

The provisional report or paper I dealt with comparative population figures, size, organizational hierarchy, sex ratio, decadal growth, area-wise administrative data, literacy rate and number of children of the age group 0 to six years, official sources said.

The remaining papers (II & III), to be released later after compilation and analysis, would deal with migration, rural-urban figures and other relevant topics, the sources added.