Change on previous period2017Population health

West Bengal's natural growth rate fell to 9.4 per 1,000 population in 2017, from 9.6 in 2016 (−2.1%).

UnusualStrength 0.5 of 10Detected 3 Oct 2026, 20:47 IST

What happened

2017: 9.4
2016: 9.6
Change: −0.2
Change, per cent: −2.1%

9.4

9.5

9.6

9.4

2014

2015

Why it matters

Annual and multi-year figures move slowly. A step this size is compared with how far the same series usually moves from one period to the next, so an ordinary year does not read as news.

For natural growth rate, neither a rise nor a fall is better in itself, so the observatory marks this movement as unusual rather than good or bad.

Historical context

Short history: fewer than four earlier values.

Full history of natural growth rate in West Bengal

The underlying data

The stored observations this signal was computed from. Each opens its release.

Period	Value	Release	Where in the document
2017	9.4	SAMPLE REGISTRATION SYSTEM (SRS)-BULLETIN 2017 VOLUME 52-I	Bulletin 2017, Table 1, p.4, row "West Bengal", column Natural Growth Rate Total
2016	9.6	SAMPLE REGISTRATION SYSTEM (SRS)-BULLETIN 2016 VOLUME 51-I	Bulletin 2016, Table 1, p.1, row "West Bengal", column Natural Growth Rate Total

Source and method

Publisher: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India
Release: SAMPLE REGISTRATION SYSTEM (SRS)-BULLETIN 2017 VOLUME 52-IArchived file Original URLFirst seen 3 Oct 2026
Method: How a change on previous period signal is computedHow natural growth rate is measured

More signals for natural growth rate in West Bengal

Cite this

According to the India Health Observatory, West Bengal's natural growth rate fell to 9.4 per 1,000 population in 2017, from 9.6 in 2016 (−2.1%). Source: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, SAMPLE REGISTRATION SYSTEM (SRS)-BULLETIN 2017 VOLUME 52-I. https://indiahealthobservatory.com/signals/natural-growth-rate--west-bengal--2017--period_change