New Delhi: Average annual population growth rate in India has declined from 2.14 per cent in 1981-91 to 1.93 per cent during 1991-2001 and is now estimated at 102.7 crore.

Attributing the current high population in some parts of the country to the large size of the population in the reproductive age group, Health and Family Welfare Minister Shatrughan Sinha said this was also as a result of higher fertility due to unmet need for contraception.

"High wanted fertility due to prevailing high infant mortality rate and son preference has also contributed to the increase in some parts of the country", he said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The growth rate of population in the country during 1961-71 stood at 2.20 per cent and it rose to 2.22 per cent in1971-81.

While in absolute terms, the population of India has increased by 180.6 million during the decade 1991-2001, the change in net addition has shown a steady declining trend starting from 1991, Sinha said.

"Undoubtedly, a combination of the population momentum and the method mix widely adopted for fertility regulation has ensured that the net addition is on the decrease", the Minister said adding for the country as a whole the achievements under the National Family Welfare Programmes have been quite substantial.

PTI