Fertility changes in sub-Saharan Africa are intricately tied to the institution of marriage. In this context, marriage is often depicted as the primary framework for childbearing, reflecting deeply rooted cultural norms and societal expectations. A woman’s age at the first childbirth is crucial for shaping future life and is directly connected to her lifetime fertility. Despite the substantial body of research central to fertility in Ethiopia, the specific role of changes in the nuptiality patterns in driving lifetime fertility transitions has received comparatively less attention. To address this gap, this study utilized data from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 2000 and 2016. A Poisson-based multivariate decomposition for the non-linear response model was employed to identify, quantify, and decompose the changes in lifetime fertility over time. The lifetime fertility experienced a statistically significant decline between the two survey periods. Early marriage and marital instability are highly prevalent in Ethiopia. Marriage stability showed improvement in the two surveys. Regardless of early or late marriage, it contributes to an increase in lifetime fertility if showing stability and decreases lifetime fertility in the case of instability. The changes in nuptiality patterns have statistically significantly contributed to lifetime fertility transition. The observed statistically significant decline in lifetime fertility is primarily linked to the reduction in the average number of deceased children. Furthermore, women with no formal education, those with secondary or higher education, women from households with the poorest and middle wealth indices, and those residing in communities with high literacy levels were key contributors to the lifetime fertility transition. The complex and dynamic shifts in nuptiality patterns among women aged 35 and older, along with contraceptive use, contributed nearly equally to the lifetime fertility transition. Nuptiality patterns should be factored in the reproductive health policies and targeted interventions to the fluctuating nuptiality patterns. With an understanding of the complexities of nuptiality patterns and their contributions to fertility transitions, governments and non-governmental organizations can foster improved family planning and reproductive health outcomes.

Analyzing shifts in nuptiality patterns plays a significant role in understanding how demographic variables respond to socioeconomic changes. However, there has been a lack of comprehensive research on the sources of changes in nuptiality patterns. This study examines how nuptiality patterns change and investigates the factors linked to changes in two birth cohorts. Data from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 2000 and 2016 were used. Marriage was observed to be early and nearly universal in both birth cohorts. A large proportion of the difference in the cumulative incidence of first marriage between the cohorts was observed at age 15 and decreased after age 35. However, the age of entry into the first marriage was slightly delayed, with a 46% reduction in the rate of marital dissolution. In addition, the compositional and structural impacts of a covariate were responsible for initiating the cumulative incidence of transition to first marriage. Furthermore, women’s education, occupation, and regional variation were identified as the main contributors to the reduction in the cumulative incidence of first marriage. Results show that the changes in nuptiality patterns were explained by a reduction in cumulative incidence of marriage, a shift in the timing of entry into the first marriage, and marital dissolution across the two birth cohorts. Moreover, socioeconomic factors, spatial drivers, and discriminatory effects between the two cohorts were the sources of changes in nuptiality patterns in Ethiopia.

The rate of marital dissolution in India is relatively low from a global perspective; however, the rate of separation exceeds that of divorce. This study aims to estimate the prevalence, trends, variations, and determinants of marital dissolution in India. We employed the approaches of descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression to examine the relationship between marital dissolution and its correlates among ever-married women in India. The findings revealed that urban women are more prone to marital dissolution, with higher rates observed among the impoverished and childless compared to their counterparts. Risk factors such as infertility, poverty, child marriage, the educational gap between spouses, urbanization, and spousal violence contribute significantly to marital disintegration. Special attention should be directed towards these segments of the population to promote marital stability.

One’s culture influences age at marriage, rules of mate selection, and fertility preferences. Language, as a component of culture, also influences culture itself. Therefore, language, as an indicator of cultural identity, is a significant, yet understudied social determinant of health in health-care settings. This study analyzes the role of cultural norms, measured through language, in early marriage and childbearing among Bengali speakers in India. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted for 51,069 women aged 15 - 49 years from three Indian states (Assam, Tripura, and West Bengal) using data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (2019 - 2021). Stata was used for the analyses, with p < 5% considered significant. Among these women, 46% were married before the age of 18, 34% were married before 18 and began childbearing before 19, and 55% were native Bengali speakers. After controlling for predictors, Bengali-speaking women were significantly more likely to marry before the age of 18 (odds ratio [OR]: 1.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.66 - 1.79) and marrying and having their first child before the age of 19 (OR: 1.55, CI: 1.49 - 1.62) compared with their non-Bengali-speaking counterparts. Thus, Bengali culture appears to be associated with early marriage and motherhood. To address this, a multi-pronged strategy involving social and behavioral change communication, targeted programs delivered by grassroots health workers, and school-based campaigns that emphasize the adverse effects of early marriage and childbearing may help reduce these practices in states with significant Bengali-speaking populations.

Ethiopia has experienced a considerable decline in fertility rates in urban and rural areas across various regions over the past few decades, largely due to government initiatives. Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS) from 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2016 provide substantial evidence of this trend in terms of total fertility rates (TFRs). Due to the lack of reliable vital registration systems and recent census data, research heavily relies on these EDHS surveys. A review of the literature reveals a gap in understanding the age patterns of fertility and the fertility transition in Ethiopia and its regions. To address this, this study proposes a “model fertility table” for Ethiopia, providing reliable estimates of age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) based on TFR data. Using TFRs from multiple EDHS surveys, ASFRs are derived for the years 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2016 to study regional fertility transition in Ethiopia. The results show a typical uni-modal distribution of ASFRs, with a broad peak in fertility rates among women aged 20 - 24, 25 - 29, and 30 - 34 during the early stages of the transition. As TFRs decline, the peak shifts toward older age groups. In addition, the fertility pattern becomes more concentrated in older age groups. Significant fertility differences were observed between regional and rural-urban areas. This study has both theoretical and practical implications. It introduces a new methodology for population studies and offers detailed ASFR data, aiding policymakers in designing targeted fertility and health policies and addressing regional fertility differences for more effective interventions.

To mitigate the plummeting birth rate, the Chinese government has shifted its birth control and population policy from a one-child policy to a two- and three-child policy in 2016 and 2021, respectively. Despite the policy being buttressed with tax cuts, subsidies, cash reward, and laced with public education about the virtue and duty of having more children, the results have been unsatisfactory. While the total fertility rate experienced a positive announcement effect (i.e., an increase from 2016’s 1.77 to 2017’s 1.81), it declined significantly and continues to drop to 1.09 in 2022. Considering this worrying trend, this study investigates the factors that contribute to Chinese netizens’ low fertility intentions for having a second child. This study performed a reflexive thematic analysis using data from 881 social media threads on Weibo. The analysis reveals five primary factors that have influenced this community’s low fertility intentions. These include: (i) the unfulfillment of a range of common preconditions; (ii) the rise of individualism and desire for personal freedom; (iii) “one-and-done” parenting by choice; (iv) conscious childlessness; and (v) childcare burden. The findings indicate that the perceived unfulfilled precondition for childbearing is the strongest contributor to this community’s lack of intent to have a second child. These findings emphasize the need for family planning policies that not only address financial and social-psychological barriers to childbearing but also align family growth with personal aspirations, promoting long-term demographic sustainability.

Male fertility is an important component of population research. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to examine the factors explaining male fertility changes in Uganda. The authors applied the own-children method, as described by Schoumaker, to understand the prevailing male total fertility rate trends and to select datasets for inclusion during the multivariate analysis, using the Uganda demographic health surveys conducted from 2006 to 2016. A multivariable Poisson decomposition regression model was used to examine factors associated with male fertility changes. This model analyzed data from the 2006 and 2016 surveys only and included a total sample size of 7839 male respondents. The outcome variable for the regression model was children ever born (CEB). The regression model showed that differences related to changes in the proportional composition of characteristics contributed 113% to the change in CEB, compared with the differences due to reproductive behavior, with other factors being kept constant. The most important proportional changes that led to meaningful variability in CEB were observed among the following characteristics: occupation, number of current wives, total number of lifetime partners, type of residence, education, and age at first childbirth. Thus, interventions to delay the formation of cohabitation and marriage unions and the onset of childbirth or fatherhood among adolescents and young men below the age of 25 should be prioritized as potent fertility regulation measures. In addition, the focus on eliminating the lack of education and primary education as the highest levels attained among boys and men should be prioritized to boost a rapid male fertility transition in Uganda.

The creation, design, and implementation of state policies for families vary across different country contexts. Our focus is on the diverse cultural conditions that can subtly influence the perception, acceptance, or dismissal of specific policy measures. The ways in which states invest in families, and whether and how they consider normative and moral aspects, as well as the roles and behaviors of family members, can differ significantly across societies, even if they are at the same stage of economic development. While this article does not directly establish a causal link between cultural conditions and family policy instruments, we leverage survey data from the World Values Survey and other supplementary information sources to examine attitudes and cultural conceptions of the family, along with broader cultural conditions worldwide. Our descriptive analysis of values and attitudes covers key dimensions, including familiarization/defamiliarization, secularization and emancipative values, gender roles, and openness toward diverse family forms. In addition, we examine societal attitudes toward demographic developments and demonstrate that cultural divisions align to a considerable extent with societal attitudes and governmental views on fertility levels. Importantly, our findings reveal systematic disparities among world regions, emphasizing the idea that distinct cultural traditions and values may be intertwined with specific policy configurations.

The ideal family size in the UK is, on average, two children. However, there is a fertility gap, the difference between wanted and achieved family size, of around one in three children, which is largely caused by extended delays to reproduction. Standard quantitative methods used to identify what causes these delays have limitations, often relying on macro-level data which conveys little about individual needs, or applying longitudinal methods that produce outdated results because only once people have completed their reproductive years is it possible to infer which life-course factors led to later-age childbearing. This study is the first to overcome these challenges by applying a discrete choice experiment to reveal the barriers that people are facing right now. This innovative methodology allows the estimation of the relative importance of the barriers and the distance between them measured in months of reproductive delay. Among other things, the results show that for men and women, partner support was more important than finances or housing, although support means different things depending on the level of education with more educated women prioritizing hands-on fathers and household gender equality, whereas less-educated women strongly desired stable partnerships. Men favored partner readiness and neighborhood quality. These, and the other findings shown here, provide detailed insight into the contemporary causes of delayed fertility in the UK.

Using data from six population censuses in China, this study analyzes the variations in the age structure of the Chinese population from 1953 to 2020. A unique aspect of this research is the redefinition of the old-age population - specifically considering the retired population (aged 55 and over for females and 60 and over for males) - which is tailored to reflect the social realities in China. This approach more accurately represents the economic burden of China’s current pension system. Our primary conclusion is that the Chinese population has undergone a dramatic transformation from being predominantly young to increasingly older, largely due to the implementation of family planning policies and overall socioeconomic development. Population aging in China encompasses not only the growing retired demographic but also the aging labor force, marked by an increasing number of individuals exiting the workforce and a decline in those entering. Moreover, the pace of population aging in China is significantly faster than in any other country. In addition, China faces a shrinking labor force and potential negative growth, exacerbated by historically low fertility rates. Finally, the changes in the child, retired, and total dependency ratios from 1953 to 2020 illustrate a rapid increase in public expenditure, driven by the growing weight of the retired population, even though the total dependency ratio in 2020 is lower than it was in 1953.