Abstract

Muslims are often blamed for having higher number of children or fertility because of their religion. However, the literature shows that decline in fertility is secular process and associated with the economic development. Given that a majority of Muslims in India belong to lower class, the community as a whole has relatively higher fertility rate. As per 2011 Census of India, the Muslim population in Telangana is 4.46 million, which is expected to grow to 5.3–5.6 million by mid-2026. It is found that contrary to the popular impression, the rate of growth of Muslim population is not much different from the state average. However, the median age among Muslims in Telangana and in rest of the country is considerably lower than the State and national averages, respectively. The dependency ratio, especially the younger age groups, is found to be higher among the Muslims in the state.