Fertility differentials among selected Muslim populations : a comparative analysis

Abstract

This study is based on data collected in the World Fertility Surveys conducted in Bangladesh, Java, Jordan and Pakistan. The aim is to identify the existence of any difference in fertility in these four Muslim populations, to investigate the extent of fertility differences by selected socio-economic characteristics of individuals, and to verify whether similar relationships hold in all four populations. Some socio-cultural differences in the status of women, age at marriage and marriage dissolutions have been noticed among the four populations. Women in Java are in a better socio-economic position than women in the other three populations. Age at marriage of women is extremely low in Bangladesh, but comparatively high in the other three populations. Marriage is found to be more stable in Jordan and Pakistan than in Bangladesh and Java. The amount of the reproductive period lost due to marriage dissolutions was found to be highest in Java followed by Bangladesh, but comparatively low in Jordan and Pakistan. The effect of divorce on fertility was highest in Java, and that of widowhood in Bangladesh. Lactational infecundability was found to play a dominant role in the reduction of fertility in all four populations, followed by the prevalence of contraception. Level of fertility, both current and cumulative, was highest in Jordan and lowest in Java; Bangladesh and Pakistan occupied an intermediate position with similar levels of fertility. Consistent relationships between the categories of socio-economic variables and fertility failed to emerge in these four populations. Six or more years of education of the women turned out to be the significant threshold associated with lower fertility in three populations, the exception being Java. Urban fertility was found to be higher than rural in most instances. The inverse relationship between work status of women and fertility was supported by the data only in the case of Java. The analysis failed to substantiate that non-agricultural activities of the husband are generally conducive to lower fertility. Multivariate analysis confirmed that fertility transition has not yet started among the majority of the people in these four populations. Show more