NEW DELHI: For the first time in the country's recorded history, more than half the families do not have more than two children, according to Census 2011 data released on Monday.While 54% married women reported having two or less children, this is significantly up from the 46.6% two-or-less children mothers counted by the previous Census in 2001, reflecting a pan-India desire for smaller families.There were about 34 crore married women who had about 92 crore children in 2011: an average of about 2.69 children per married woman.In 2001, the corresponding figures were 27 crore married women having 83 crore children at an average of 3.03 children per woman. The dip in the average number of women is the sharpest compared to ear lier decades.Another feature is that women are deferring child birth to later years. Among women in the 20-24 years age group, 35% had no child in 2011 compared with 32% in 2001, and in the age group 25-29, 16% had no child compared with 13.4% in 2001.As a result of these changes, the period fertility rate - the average number of children that a woman in the age group 45-49 years has ever borne - has declined by a drastic 16% between 2001 and 2011. The fertility rate of women between 45 and 49 years, that is, when their child bearing days are over, is considered a standard measure by demographers for defining average fertility.The 14% decline in Muslim fertility rate is significant because in the previous decade (1991 to 2001) the decline was only 5%. So it appears that Muslim families too are quickly catching up with other communities, impelled by similar economic and social considerations.While these trends are seen across all religious communities, there are small variations. The fertility rate has declined most for the Jain community by almost 22% between the two Censuses. Among Hindus and Christians it shows a decline of 16% while among Muslims it dipped by 14%.