Syrian Christians face decline: Study

The Syrian Christians in Kerala might soon face a fate like the Parsis who are on steady decline in the country.

According to a study by KC Zachariah of the Centre for Development Studies, Syrian Christians are likely to hit a maximum of 30.21 lakh in 2011 and then decline to touch 28.51 lakh by 2031.

Their net growth rate during 2001-31 is projected to be negative 0.19% (-0.19%) per year, and the percentage of Syrian Christians to the state's population is likely to drop from 9.5 at the beginning of the century to 8.4 by 2031, as reported by the Economic Times.

"The trend has its roots in the already declining population rate, compounded by the fact that migrating Syrian Christians go to countries from where they are unlikely to return, as against those who migrate for a few years and return to the state," Mr Zachariah told ET.

Syrian Christians, also known as Saint Thomas Christians are an ethnoreligious group from Kerala, adhering to the various churches of the Saint Thomas Christian tradition.

They are descendants of the natives and those of the Jewish diaspora in Kerala who became Christians in the Malabar Coast in the earliest days of Christianity.

Although they are top-most rung in the socio-economic ladder in the State, they are declining due to the higher rate of migration and the faster decline in fertility among Christians in the recent decades.

Mr Zachariah's study shows that while the last century began with an elderly population of 4% in the community, the century ended with the elderly making up 10% of the community.

The first quarter of this century is likely to witness the elderly population in the community touch 25% of the total, growing at 3% per annum, as against a negative 0.35% growth for the total population.

Surprisingly, on a socio-economic scale of 1 to 5, with rank 5 being the most desirable, Syrian Christians are the only ones who have a rank higher than 3, while Nairs, Ezhavas, Latin Christians and Muslims all have a score between 1.5 and 2, as reported by the ET.