Local population drops down by 44,000 in 12 years
GANGTOK,: Struggling with the nation’s lowest fertility rate, the Sikkimese population has dropped by 6.45% over the past 12 years, intensifying fears of a rapid demographic change in the State.
In the 2011 Census, there were 6.82 lakh Sikkimese people - those having Sikkim Subject Certificates / Certificate of Identification.
The Sikkimese number declined to 6.38 lakh in the next 12 years as per a State government survey, meaning there was a drop of 44,000.
Chief Minister PS Golay shared the figures on Sunday, noting that time has come to seriously address the “day by day” declining Sikkimese population.
“The population of original Sikkimese, meaning those having Sikkim Subject Certificates or Certificates of Identification, was 6.82 lakh in 2011 Census. We did a census after 12 years and found that the population of original Sikkimese has come down to 6.38 lakh,” said the Chief Minister at Rhenock.
It shows that for every two deaths, there is only one birth happening…the original population of Sikkim is decreasing day by day, we have to seriously think on this imbalance and the State government has been encouraging the people to have more children, said Golay.
Sikkim has the lowest fertility rate in India, with a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of around 1.1, meaning on average, a woman in Sikkim has only one child in her lifetime, significantly below the national average of around 2.0; this is considered a cause for concern as the State's local population is shrinking rapidly due to the low birth rate.
“Our demography will change with local population becoming less than the floating population. Time has come to seriously think on this, let’s go for more children, the government is ready to support you, we can even give triple increments if you have the fourth child,” said the Chief Minister.
Since coming to power in 2019, the SKM government has taken a series of initiatives to push the child birth rate and encourage larger families in Sikkim. The measures include one-year maternity leave and increment for having more than one child for the State government employees.
Also initiated was the Vatsalya Scheme in 2022 which provides financial support of Rs. 3 lakh to couples for undertaking IVF. From April 2022 to July 2024, 779 beneficiaries have benefitted from this scheme.
There were 4.66 lakh adults in Sikkim in 2024 as per the voters’ figure.