India records highest number of births on Jan 1, 60,000 babies born

UNICEF estimates that nearly 3,71,504 infants are likely to be born across the world on the 1st day of the year

India set a record of the highest childbirth across the globe with about 60,000 babies born on New Year’s Day. The digit perhaps failed to counter the 2020 birth count by 7,390.

Following the UNICEF estimates, China records half the number, i.e., 35,615 on the 1st January, this year following India. UNICEF estimates nearly 3,71,504 infants are likely to be born across the world on the 1st day of the year. The report also says, 52 per cent of the births would happen in just ten countries. 

The report from UNICEF reads, "Globally, over half of these births, are estimated to take place in 10 countries: India (59,995), China (35,615), Nigeria (21,439), Pakistan (14,161), Indonesia (12,336), Ethiopia (12,006), the US (10,312), Egypt (9,455), Bangladesh (9,236), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (8,640)."

The report further states, a calculated 140 million infants would be born in 2021, and the average life expectancy would be 84 years. UNICEF said, "The children born today enter a world far different than even a year ago, and a New Year brings a new opportunity to reimagine it."

"Children born today will inherit the world we begin to build for them, today. Let us make 2021 the year we start to build a fairer, safer, healthier world for children," said Henrietta Fore, Executive Director. 

According to the reports, in India, the life expectancy of babies born in 2021 would be 80.9 years. The government initiatives of establishing Special Newborn Care Units (SNCU) have helped survive 1,000 infants each day in India. Nearly 320 district-level SNCUs have been set up by the government between 2014 and 2020.