Varying Fertility Behaviour in Urban and Rural Areas

16.04.2013
PRESSEMITTEILUNG
Nr. 4/2013
Bundesinstitut für
Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB)
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 4
65185 Wiesbaden
www.bib-demografie.de
Veröffentlichung gegen Quellenangabe honorarfrei, um ein Belegexemplar wird gebeten. Für Rückfragen wenden Sie sich bitte an:
Dr. Stephan Kühntopf
Tel.: 0611 / 75 - 2752
stephan.kuehntopf@bib.bund.de
Chart of the Month
Varying Fertility Behaviour in Urban and Rural Areas
Women living in large cities show different fertility behaviour than women in rural
areas: They become mothers at an older age and consequently have fewer children.
In more detail, women living in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants are on
average 31,6 years old at the birth of their first child, whereas women in rural areas
are only 29,8. This information has been released by the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB). When looking at fertility behaviour in the context of age, the
following can be found: Between 20 and 32 years, women in rural areas consistently show a higher birth rate than women in urban areas. On the other hand, women
in large cities have more children as teenagers and then again starting from the age
of 33.
There are also differences regarding the number of children. Women in large cities
give birth to 1,3 children on average, whereas in rural areas, women have slightly
more with averagely 1,4 on average. “The low birth rate in cities is primarily the
result of high childlessness. In rural areas, there are significantly fewer women
without children”, says BiB-researcher Dr. Stephan Kühntopf. The difference in
fertility behaviour between urban and rural areas can also be explained by differing
population structures. In cities, there are more single and unmarried women, who
postpone having children to a later point in life.
Age-Specific Birth Rates, Comparison between Urban and Rural Areas
(Live Births per 1,000 Women, sorted by Age, 2009)
120
100
Rural Areas
80
Urban Areas
60
40
20
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finden Sie auch auf unserer Webseite
unter www.bib-demografie.de.
0
15
25
[Age in years ]
Source: Statistical Offices of the Länder, BBSR; own calculations: BiB
35
45