Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per thousand males. In India the sex ratio is not in favour of females. The disturbing factor in the sex- ratio is its declining trend. Except slight gains in the census years of 1951, 1981 and 2001\the decrease is continuous since 1901 onwards. In 1901 the sex ratio was 972 females per 1000 males which fell down to 955 in 1921, 945 in 1941, 930 in 1971 and 927 in 1991 (Table 27. VIII).
There has been 7 point decline in the sex ratio between 1981-91. This is a typical characteristic of a developing country where little care is taken to the health and hygiene of female child. Consequently there is higher death rate amongst females than males. The rate of female infanticide at pre and post birth level is also a matter of great concern. That is why there is strong demand for complete ban on the pre-birth sex determination. In India, on an average, 937 female births take place for every 1000 male births.
The higher female mortality at all ages further widens the gap between the two sexes growth and a slow rate of shift from agricultural to non-agricultural sector. This also indicates heavy dependence of people on agriculture which is not a choice but a sheer necessity. It also exposes the incapability of the secondary sector to create jobs and absorb labour. Another significant feature of the occupational structure of the country is low participation of females in the country’s working force.
The share of female workers to the total female population of the country is only 15.79 per cent (cf. for males 50.46 per cent) while their share in total working population is only 22.5 per cent. Majority of female workers are engaged in agricultural sector. The spatial pattern of workers also exhibits great variation. Their percentage share in the total population of the respective state varies between 23.95 (Lakshadweep) and 45.20 (Arunachal Pradesh) against the all-India average of 34.10.
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There are 13 states (Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Manipur, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat) and two union territories (Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Chandigarh) which show higher percentage of workers than the national average. On the other hand Kerala (28.53 per cent), Haryana (28.66), Tripura (29.09), Uttar Pradesh (29.73), Punjab (30.07) and West Bengal (30.23 per cent) are the states which have lower percentage of working force in their population.
Compared to 55.5 per cent of India’s population in the working age-group (15-59 years) one can very easily assess the quantum of unemployment in the country. This indicates that about 40 per cent of the country’s man-power in the working age-group remains unutilised for any productive activities. This is a colossal loss to the country and is the root cause of so many problems which the country is facing today.