The total fertility rate in an economy is defined as :
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Answer: D. Total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime (by the end of her child-bearing years, about 15 to 49) if she followed current age-specific birth rates. A TFR of about 2.1 is the replacement level.
Watch for: Option B sounds close, but TFR is defined per woman, not per couple.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because births per 1000 people in a year is the crude birth rate.
- B. Wrong because TFR is measured per woman, not per couple.
- C. Wrong because birth rate minus death rate is the natural growth rate.
Source to check: NCERT Class 12 Fundamentals of Human Geography, Chapter 2 'The World Population'; Sample Registration System Statistical Report, Office of the Registrar General of India
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.