Number of children under 5 in India
India: Number of children under 5 was 114.67 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of children under 5 in India, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2023, number of children under 5 in India stood at 114.67 million people.
The figure is down 1.0% on the previous year and down 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of children under 5 in India peaked at 134.60 million people in 2004 and was at its lowest, 52.01 million people, in 1950.
That places India 1st out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 62.21 million people | 52.01 million people | 70.61 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 78.72 million people | 72.05 million people | 84.97 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 94.28 million people | 86.44 million people | 102.22 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 114.17 million people | 104.22 million people | 123.11 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 127.89 million people | 124.34 million people | 131.08 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 132.80 million people | 129.88 million people | 134.60 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 124.86 million people | 119.62 million people | 129.10 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 116.53 million people | 114.67 million people | 118.58 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
More reference data data for India
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.8635 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.6189 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0088 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.3046 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.2053 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 233.06 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of children under 5 in India?
- Number of children under 5 in India was 114.67 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of children under 5 recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 134.60 million people in 2004.
- What is the lowest number of children under 5 recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 52.01 million people in 1950.
- How does India rank for number of children under 5?
- India ranks 1st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of children under 5 rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of children under 5. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.