Volume 16 - Article 11 | Pages 315–374  

Cohort birth order, parity progression ratio and parity distribution trends in developed countries

By Tomas Frejka, Jean-Paul Sardon

Abstract

Major changes in childbearing patterns are continuously taking place in the majority of low-fertility populations with postponement being virtually universal. Almost everywhere the two-child family became dominant. Proportions of childless women and one-child families were increasing recently. Changes in childbearing patterns in Central and Eastern Europe have been profound justifying the label of an historic transformation. Young women are bearing considerably fewer children compared to older cohorts. Especially proportions of women having second births in most CEE countries were declining rapidly and these were lower than in western countries. Postponement of childbearing might be nearing cessation in some western countries.

Author’s Affiliation

• Tomas Frejka - Independent researcher, International EMAIL
• Jean-Paul Sardon - Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED), France EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

First birth trends in developed countries: Persisting parenthood postponement
Volume 15 - Article 6

Overview Chapter 5: Determinants of family formation and childbearing during the societal transition in Central and Eastern Europe
Volume 19 - Article 7

Overview Chapter 3: Birth regulation in Europe: Completing the contraceptive revolution
Volume 19 - Article 5

Overview Chapter 2: Parity distribution and completed family size in Europe: Incipient decline of the two-child family model
Volume 19 - Article 4

Overview Chapter 1: Fertility in Europe: Diverse, delayed and below replacement
Volume 19 - Article 3

Summary and general conclusions: Childbearing Trends and Policies in Europe
Volume 19 - Article 2

Cohort Reproductive Patterns in the Nordic Countries
Volume 5 - Article 5

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