Book: Half-truths and whole numbers - Interesting data points

Page 20: Uttar Pradesh, with over 200 million people, recorded just over 10,000 cases of grievous hurt in 2014. In contrast, London, with under 9 million people, recorded over 70,000 cases of assault with injury offences, according to its police statistics for 2014-15. London’s crime rate is 7x of UP. 

Page 29: During the 2010-2014 survey, the Indian sample demonstrated a lower commitment to democratic principles than most other major countries. India, along with Pakistan and Russia, featured below the global average on the importance accorded to democracy. Indian respondents had an even lower regard than Pakistani respondents for civil rights that protect people's liberty against oppression as being an essential part of a democracy. Furthermore, Indian respondents expressed greater support for a ‘strong leader’ and for army rule than most other countries and the global average. The share of Indians who thought that a strong leader was ‘very good’ for the country was higher than in any other country, even Russia.

Page 35: Hindus, in particular, tended to see their religious identity and national identity as closely intertwined. Nearly two-thirds of Hindus, 64%, said it is very important to be Hindu to be ‘truly Indian.’

Page 37: In a large national survey, 85% of people said that marriage between two people of different religions was not acceptable. Young people in their late teens and early twenties were even more likely than older people to say that inter-religious marriage was unacceptable. Neither income nor education made people more likely to accept inter-religious marriage.

Page 38: Younger people do not have much more progressive beliefs. A 2017 survey on the attitudes of young people found that 6 out of 10 respondents supported banning movies which hurt religious sentiments, even more so among Muslim youth. Additionally, 70% of Hindu youth were opposed to allowing anyone to eat beef, and one-third of young people opposed inter-caste marriage.

Page 46: Over 60% said in a survey that it is good for the family if women were able to earn and contribute to the household. Yet, 38% felt that a mother working outside the home had a negative impact on the well-being of children. Additionally, 43% felt that young women should prioritize marriage and family commitments over paid work.

Page 84: A 2017 global opinion poll found that Indians were the most accepting of political bias in the media of all the countries surveyed. Many more Indians said that it was sometimes acceptable for a news organization to favor one political party than those who said it was never acceptable. India was the only country where the scale tipped this way.

Page 100: Nearly 40% of Indians would not be able to afford what is described as a healthy diet. The poorest in India already spend upwards of 6 out of every 10 rupees on food.

page 100: Just 3% of Indian adults say religion is not too or not at all important in their lives. In contrast, a significant 97% of India believe in God. The main exception to this trend is among Buddhists, one-third of whom say they do not believe in God.

Page 115: Of the 72 countries for which there is comparable data, Indian men have their first experience of sexual intercourse the latest, at age 24.3. The median Indian woman, on the other hand, has her first experience of sex at age 19. By the age of 45 to 49, only 1% of women and 2% of men have never been married.

Page 122: A nationally representative household survey conducted in 2014 found that over half of the people who are rich self-identify as middle class. Interestingly, over 40% of the poor also self-identify as middle class.

Page 156: On average, Indians spend a little under Rs 2,500 every month, with the average urban Indian spending Rs 3,860 every month, over twice that her rural counterpart does. The poorest 5% of rural Indians spend under Rs 870 per month, and the poorest 5% of urban Indians spend Rs 1,325 per month. Delhi is India's richest state, followed by Kerala. Indians in the state spend over Rs 4,000 per month on average.

Page 188: India's workers are among the world's most insecure and need more, not fewer, protections. Seven out of ten salaried workers are in jobs with no written contract, and over half are in jobs that provide them with no paid leave or social security benefits. Indians are among the most overworked workers globally. Only in Gambia, Mongolia, Maldives, and Qatar do the average workers work longer hours than their Indian counterparts. Notably, in Qatar, a quarter of the population is Indian.

Page 192: India’s minimum wages are among the lowest in the world, except for some sub-saharan African nations. 

Page 210: Sex Selective Abortion, or the Stopping Principle, is a phenomenon where families stop having children as soon as they have had a boy.

Page 226: 13 of every 100 Indians live in a village of fewer than 1,000 people. 40 of every 100 Indians live in a village of 1,000 to 5,000 people. The remaining 16 rural residents of every 100 Indians live in a village of more than 5,000 people. That leaves just 31 of every 100 Indians living in a city.  17% of India's urban population, live in slums.

Page 226: The average Indian family lives in a house that's less than 500 square feet in size. Fewer than half use LPG for cooking, with the rest using firewood, crop residue, and animal dung as fuel.

Page 227: Urban renters pay just over Rs. 3,300 per month for rent on average. The average rural Indian household now has 4.5 people, with the southern states, except Karnataka, averaging fewer than 4 people in a household, and Uttar Pradesh and Bihar having more than 5 people per household. In 7 out of 10 households, each married couple does not get a room to themselves even now.

Page 256: Indians are among the shortest people in the world. But the consensus is that genes contribute to only a small portion of adult height, while environmental factors, including the mother's health, infant and child nutrition, sanitation, and environmental pollution, explain the bulk of the difference in growth in height between groups.

Page 262: The rate of hospitalisation in India is currently at 2.9%, meaning that around 3 out of every 100 people need hospitalisation, excluding childbirth, during a calendar year.