Social Development
Kerala ranks highest in India with respect to social development indices such as elimination of poverty, primary education and healthcare. This resulted from significant efforts begun in 1911 by the erstwhile Cochin and Travancore states to boost healthcare and education among the people. This central focus — unusual in India — was then maintained after Kerala's post-independence inauguration as a state. Thus, Kerala has the highest literacy rate in India of 91% (2001); and life expectancy is now the highest in India. However, the same is true of Kerala's unemployment and suicide rates. As per the 2001 census, Kerala is the only state in India with a female-to-male ratio higher than 0.99. The ratio for Kerala is 1.058 — 1059 females per 1000 males — while the national figure is 0.933. It is also the only state in India to have sub-replacement fertility. UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) designated Kerala the world's first "baby-friendly state" via its "Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative". The state is also known for Ayurveda, a traditional system of medicine — this traditional expertise is currently drawing increasing numbers of medical tourists. However, drawbacks to this situation includes the population's steady aging — indeed, 11.2% of Keralites are age 60 or over.
Kerala's unusual socioeconomic and demographic situation was summarized by author and environmentalist Bill McKibben:
Kerala, a state in India, is a bizarre anomaly among developing nations, a place that offers real hope for the future of the Third World. Though not much larger than Maryland, Kerala has a population as big as California's and a per capita annual income of less than $300 mn dollar. But its infant mortality rate is very low, its literacy rate among the highest on Earth, and its birthrate below America's and falling faster. Kerala's residents live nearly as long as Americans or Europeans. Though mostly a land of paddy-covered plains, statistically Kerala stands out in social development; there's truly no place like it.
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of Kerala
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