Literacy Rates and its Impact on Birth Rates in Nadia District, West Bengal, India

Equality in socio-economic component is essential for human development and social change. Educational inequality reduces economic growth and women's empowerment on the one hand and increases birth rate on the other. In population studies, it has been established that educational level is collinearly related with demographic behaviour. This study aims to investigate inequalities in literacy rates and its impact on birth rates in Nowpara-I Gram Panchayat (GP) located in the Krishnagar II C.D. Block, Nadia District of West Bengal using a household survey conducted in 356 households among women aged 49 and above in triangulation with secondary data. The aim of this study is to explore the causes of the spatial inequalities in education and its effect on spatial variations in birth rates. The key finding suggest that in Nowpara-I, negative relationships exist between female education and birth rate because education has a positive impact on empowerment, late marriage, use of contraceptives and family size.