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Bombay: The Telling Figures for 2019

The percentage of interfaith marriages in Bombay has shown a five percent increase, from 40% in 2018 to 45% in 2019. The number of Parsis who married outside the faith was 99 in 2019, an increase of 14 over the preceding year. The number of marriages within the Parsi fold was 123, an increase of nine.  Among interfaith marriages, males continue to outnumber females. In 2019, 57 males and 42 females married out of the community indicating that 58% males as compared to 42% females had opted for non-Parsi partners. In the previous year, 47 males and 28 females had married out; the percentage figures for males being 63 and for females 37.
As has been the trend over the years, the year preceding and following a leap year always shows a spike in the total number of marriages. The total number of marriages, Parsi and interfaith, in 2019 were 222 as compared to 189 in 2018, 182 in 2017 and 166 in 2016.
The average age for brides remained the same at 32 years but for grooms the number went down from 35 years in 2018 to 34 in 2019. The youngest bride was 23 and the eldest, 46. Among the grooms, the youngest was 23, whilst the eldest was 48.
December recorded the highest number of community marriages, 41, as also interfaith marriages, 18. The next favored month was February that saw 25 community marriages and 15 interfaith marriages. There was only one Parsi marriage each in the months of April, July, August and October. The count of civil marriages showed one in September, three in August  and four in June.
The total number of deaths increased by 55 from 720 in 2018 to 775 in 2019. Of the 775 deceased, 685 were consigned to the dakhmas and 90 were cremated. The corresponding figures in 2018 were 647 at Doongerwadi and 73 at the Worli Prayer Hall. Hence the percentage of those opting for cremation increased from 10 to 12. Among those consigned to the dakhmas in 2019, there were 318 males and 367 females as compared to 312 males and 335 females in the previous year. Of the 90 opting for cremation, 38 were males and 52 females. In the previous year there were 39 males and 34 females.
The average age at death increased from 80 in 2018 to 83 in 2019. The eldest to die was a 109-year-old woman and the youngest, a seven-year-old girl. Among those deceased, 160 or 21% were nonagenarians and nine or two percent had crossed the centenary milestone.
As per information available with Parsiana, there were 86 births in 2019, an increase of eight over the previous year’s count. There were 37 boys and 49 girls born in 2019 as compared to 41 boys and 37 girls in 2018. For the data on births, Parsiana is primarily dependent on the Breach Candy Hospital and families who intimate us with documentary proof.
Parsi birth figures compiled by the Bombay Municipal Corporation are reportedly given to The Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths and the Director General of Health Services, Maharashtra. Parsiana has been unable to access the data from either.
Given below are the 2019 demographic details on the Zoroastrian community residing in Bombay, based on information available with Parsiana.