Determinants of fertility decline in India

Description

Indian fertility has declined by at least 25 percent in the last twenty years. The current total fertility rate is 4.8%, which is lower than that in any other country at the same or a lower level of socioeconomic development, as measured by per capita income, infant mortality, female education, and the like. Nearly 90 percent of the fertility decline in the period 1961-81 can be accounted for by the increase in family planning practice, and the balance by an increase in the age at marriage. The authors interpretation of the extent, pattern, and socioeconomic correlates of fertility decline in India is that, in the changing socioeconomic situation, the increase in the cost of bringing up children creates a situation in which a smaller family size is becoming an economic necessity to an increasing number of couples. The family planning program served not only this emerging demand for small families, but created additional demand for contraception through information and incentives.