Spatial variability and changing pattern of wellbeing of women in West Bengal, India: a sociodemographic perspective

In India, growing regional disparities has huge implications on its development. Several studies have been conducted to understand the extent of regional disparity from different aspects. This article is confined to study the spatial variability of the sociodemographic wellbeing of women in the state of West Bengal in India by considering four major dimensions of women’’s life i.e. women demography, education, essential amenities and health. The temporal changes of the same is studied by comparing the fourth and fifth round data of National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The degree of spatial variability has been determined by developing the Sociodemographic Wellbeing Index (SDWI) with the help of Principal Component Analysis. The study observes huge inter-district disparity in the sociodemographic wellbeing of women in West Bengal. The district of Kolkata, Haora and North 24 Parganas belong to the category of very high women wellbeing while Bankura, Purba Medinipur and Puruliya are at the lowest level of women development. The study confirms that even within this short period of two National Family Health Surveys, the ranking of the districts regarding the sociodemographic wellbeing of women has changed significantly.