Hinduism

With Diwali celebrations underway, here are some facts about Hindus around the world.

India’s artificially wide ratio of baby boys to baby girls – which arose in the 1970s from the use of prenatal diagnostic technology to facilitate sex-selective abortions – now appears to be narrowing. Son bias has declined sharply among Sikhs, while Christians continue to have a natural balance of sons and daughters.

Most Indians support gender equality, but a new survey finds that traditional gender norms still hold sway for many people in the country.

Indians nearly universally say it is important for women to have the same rights as men, including eight-in-ten who say this is very important.

Indians accept women as political leaders, but many favor traditional gender roles in family life.

In recent weeks, protests in India over Muslim headscarves in schools have gained international attention.

To highlight some of India’s religious, cultural and demographic differences, here are key facts about its states.

Religious pluralism has long been a core value in India. A new report shows that India’s religious composition has been fairly stable since 1951.

All major religious groups in India have shown sharp declines in their fertility rates, limiting change in the country’s religious composition since 1951. Meanwhile, fertility differences between India’s religious groups are generally much smaller than they used to be.

Hindus were the religious group most likely to say they voted for the BJP in India’s most recent parliamentary election.