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More than eight in 10 young Indians surveyed by UNFPA said they felt positive about the future, even as nearly half reported deep worries about conflict, economic insecurity and inequality.
The survey points to a gap between the number of children young Indians ideally want and the number they are having.
The findings come as India’s total fertility rate has fallen to 1.9 children per woman, below the replacement level of 2.1.
UNFPA says India’s demographic opportunity will depend on expanding education, decent work, healthcare, social protection and gender equality for young people.
India’s young people remain optimistic about what lies ahead, but financial pressures are widening the gap between the families they want and the families they are able to build, a new United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) survey suggests.
The survey, released as India undergoes one of the most significant demographic transitions in its history, finds that roughly eight in ten young Indians report positive feelings regarding their futures.
The findings were released to mark World Population Day on July 11 and come from UNFPA’s Demographic Futures Survey. The survey gathered responses from 100,000 internet-connected adults aged 18 to 39 globally, including more than 1,700 respondents in India.
UNFPA said the survey is not nationally representative and should not be read as a population-level estimate. The responses were weighted by sex, age and educational attainment.
According to the India findings, about 83 per cent of respondents said they felt “positive or very positive” about the future. At the same time, nearly half or 47 per cent, said they were very worried about “conflict, economic insecurity and inequality”.
The survey also points to a gap between aspirations and lived realities when it comes to family size. Women aged 18 to 39 reported an ideal family size of 2.1 children, compared with an average of just 1 child among women aged 35 to 39. Men reported an ideal family size of 2.2 children, against an average of 1.1 children among men in the same 35-to-39 age bracket.
Despite this gap, parenthood remains part of many young Indians' future plans. Among respondents aged 35 to 39 who do not currently have children, nearly 85 per cent said they would ideally like to become parents.
The findings come as India’s fertility rate has fallen below replacement level. The Sample Registration System Statistical Report, released last month by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, said India’s total fertility rate had dropped to 1.9 children per woman, below the 2.1 level needed to keep the population stable in the long term. In the 2000s, India’s fertility rate was about 3.3 births per woman.
Total fertility rate refers to the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime.
“World Population Day reminds us that population is ultimately about people, their lives and their aspirations, not just numbers,” said Andrea M Wojnar, UNFPA India Representative.
"Young people across India are telling us they remain hopeful about their futures. Our responsibility is to ensure that hope is matched by opportunity. When young people can complete their education, access quality healthcare, find decent work, live free from discrimination and exercise their rights and choices, they are better able to build the lives they aspire to. That strengthens families, communities and India's future,” Wojnar added.
The India findings echo broader global patterns identified in the survey. Across the full sample, marriage remains a common ideal relationship arrangement, with more than two-thirds of respondents selecting an ideal arrangement that includes marriage — either before or after a period of cohabitation.
Financial security emerged as the highest-rated consideration for partnership formation globally, cited as important by 81 per cent of respondents, while economic and housing constraints were the most commonly reported barrier to both partnership and parenthood.
Globally, a two-children preference emerged as the most common ideal family size across most regions — though people aged 35 to 39 tend to have fewer children than they say they would ideally want.
India's greatest demographic opportunity lies “not in the size of its population, but in the potential of its young people,” the report highlighted. Realising this potential, the report said, will depend on expanding opportunities for young women and men through quality education, decent work, accessible healthcare, social protection and gender equality.
To unlock the potential, India would require a "gender dividend," in which every young woman has the rights, choices and opportunities to participate equally in shaping her own future and the country's development, the report highlighted.
The 2026 Demographic Futures Survey builds on preliminary findings presented in the 2025 State of World Population report and is intended, UNFPA said, as a starting point for more in-depth comparative analysis of demographic change across countries.
