As per the 2011 Census data, the total population of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is 199.6 million, which accounts for 16.5% of India’s total population. UP is by far the largest state in India and is the fifth largest administrative unit in the world (in terms of population) after China, India, USA and Indonesia.
UP’s development indicators are one of the lowest in India and lag far behind the Millennium development targets fixed for the country. In fact, UP lags behind most states in India in terms of key development indicators. UP is part of Empowered Action Group called the EAG states, comprising the least developed eight states in India including Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
As per the latest census, EAG states have shown little improvement signifying the need for urgent, critical and focused action. Take a look at some of the key development indicators of UP below (Source – Census of India: Provisional Estimates, 2011)
Key highlights in the Education and Health sector:
- Significantly UP’s literacy level in urban areas is lowest in India amongst 35 states and Union Territories.
- Further UP’s literacy rate amongst females in rural areas is extremely low at 55.6% and in urban areas is 71.7% (ranked 3rd from bottom) after Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan
Health indicators in UP (Source: Sample Registration Survey – 2007-9 and Annual Health Survey – 2010-11):
- MMR (Mother Mortality Rate) rate- 127 for the four southern states.
- IMR (Infant Mortality Rate) in Kerala is 12.
- U5MR (Under 5 Mortality Rate) in Kerala is 14.
As human development indicators in UP are one of the lowest in the country, the E&H Foundation will focus its work in the state of UP.
You can send your feedback or contact us at sanjeev@enhfoundation.in