India is the second most populous country in the world. Its current estimated population of 886 million is greater than the combined populations of Africa and the Near East. lndia has only 2.3 percent of the world's land area but more than 16 percent of the world's population.

Fertility in India has been slowly declining. The total fertility rate declined from about 6 children in the 1960's to an estimated 3.7 children in 1992. During the same period, the crude birth rate declined from 42 to 45 births per 1,000 persons to 30 births per 1,000 persons. Fertility varies widely among the states of India (figure 1). The 1988 total fertility rate (TFR) Kerala  of 2 children per woman was below the replacement level. In contrast, in the four most populous northern states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, comprising almost 40 percent of the Indian population, the average TFR  exceeded 5 children per woman (IRG,  p. 26).