Backward Vidarbha has better sex ratio

Vidarbha comprises two divisions,Amravati and Nagpur,which include 11 districts of Amravati,Akola,Bhandara,Buldana,Chandrapur,Gadchiroli,Gondia,Nagpur,Wardha,Washim and Yavatmal. Four of these districts are ranked among the top ten districts in the state in terms of sex ratio (number of women per 1,000 men in population). Gondia with 996 women per 1,000 men is ranked third in the state,exceeded only by Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. Bhandara with a sex ratio of 984 is ranked fifth in the state.

All districts in Vidarbha have a sex ratio higher than the state average sex ratio of 925. Moreover,only two of them — Buldhana and Washim — have a sex ratio lower than the national average of 940.

Interestingly,though the sex ratio in most other districts of the state have reported a drop,seven districts in Vidarbha have recorded a rise in their sex ratio figures. In Akola,Amravati and Nagpur,the sex ratio has gone up consistently since 1961. The sex ratio in Akola was 926 in 1961 and 938 in 2001 while it is 942 in 2011. In Amravati,it has jumped from 933 in 1961 and 938 in 2001 to 947 in 2011. In Nagpur,it was 929 in 1961,932 in 2001 and 948 in 2011.

Eight Vidarbha districts have a child sex ratio higher than the national average of 913 girls born for every 1,000 boys. The two highest child sex ratios in the state are reported in Vidarbha. The Naxal-hit Gadchiroli has the highest child sex ratio in the state,with 956 girls born every 1,000 boys and the second highest is reported from the farmer suicide-striken district of Chandrapur (945).