Amid welfare pitch, Kerala ranks highest in most indicators

Kerala is set to hold its Legislative Assembly elections on April 9, and the results will be announced on May 3. The stage is set for a tight competition between the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), with the NDA trying to make inroads into the State’s Assembly constituencies this year.

The three competing political fronts have released election manifestos which bet heavily on welfare via pensions. An analysis of key indicators shows that Kerala fares better than most in several indicators spanning health, economy, and education.

The table shows Kerala’s ranking among other States in select economic indicators and its actual value as per the latest year.

Kerala has demonstrated solid economic growth over the past decade, and ranked seventh among 23 States in per capita net State domestic product.

Data shows that economic development permeates Kerala’s rural population as well. The average daily wage rate in the State is ₹868, the highest among all States.

The State also ranks second among others in terms of Human Development Index (HDI), which takes health, education, and standard of living into account.

The table below shows Kerala’s rank across various health indicators. As per data from the National Family Health Survey for 2021-22, Kerala recorded an Infant Mortality Rate of 4.4, the lowest in India. The nationwide average was nearly eight times this figure, 35.2. Kerala also recorded the lowest Maternal Mortality Ratio in the country.

The State recorded low shares of women aged 15-19 who have begun childbearing. About 93% of surveyed women in Kerala also have access to hygienic methods of menstrual protection. When it comes to children, only about 78% of Kerala’s child population have received all basic vaccinations, ranking 12th out of 29 States. However, it has the second-lowest share of children aged 0-5 years whose growth is stunted, closely following Sikkim.

As shown in the table below, Kerala is also a frontrunner when it comes to education-related indicators. The State ranks among the top-performing States for the Adjusted Net Enrolment Rate (ANER) in elementary education (%). This indicator, as per the World Bank, refers to the number of pupils of the school-age group for primary education, enrolled either in primary or secondary education as a share of the total population in that age group.

Similarly, the State’s Gross enrolment ratio in higher secondary is higher than the all-India average of 57.6%. It is one of the top three States for this indicator. GER refers to total enrolment in a particular level of school education, regardless of age, as a share of the population of the official age group for a given level of school education.

With a ratio of 1.44, the State ranks first among 29 States on the Gender Parity Index in education (GPI). The indicator is the ratio of female to male students enrolled at a specific level of education.

As shown in the table below, the State is among the top-performing States for infrastructure indicators.

As per data, the share of urban households living in kachha houses in the State is null, less than the country’s average of 0.9%. It ranks second among 28 States with respect to Internet teledensity in rural areas.

But Kerala lagged a little behind on environment-related indicators. The State was among the top 10 States that generated high amounts of plastic waste per thousand population. It was also one of the top nine States in terms of per capita fossil fuel consumption.

The data for the charts were sourced from NFHS-4 and NITI Aayog

With inputs from Devyanshi Bihani