Fertility levels, patterns and differentials in Papua new Guinea
Agyei, W.K.
Genus 43(1-2): 69-92
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0016-6987 PMID: 12341509 DOI: 10.2307/29788890Document Number: 353221
On the basis of a survey conducted between November 1979 and March 1980, new evidence is presented on changes in fertility levels, patterns, and differentials in Papua New Guinea. A single-stage systematic sample designed was used to select respondents in both rural and urban areas. 3986 females in the childbearing age group of 15-49 years and 2297 males ranging in age between 20 and 54 years were interviewed. 1066 males and 1857 females lived in rural areas and 1231 males and 2129 females resided in urban areas. Information was collected on the following: births occurring in the 12 months prior to the survey; the number of children ever born of all female respondents; a complete pregnancy history of all female respondents; and the age structure of the female respondents. The results of the estimated fertility measures for the rural and urban areas of Papua New Guinea are high by world standards: adjusted estimates of total fertility rates of between 6-7, gross reproduction rates of 2.99 and 2.76, and net reproduction rates of 2.25 and 2.08 for the urban and rural areas. Fertility was higher for rural respondents in all age groups except in the 30-34 and the 45-49 age groups where the rates were slightly higher for urban respondents. These differences in the fertility rates were substantial, particularly among respondents under 25 years old. The rural total fertility rate was 8.5% higher than the urban rate; the differences in the gross reproduction rate and the net reproduction rate were 8.3% and 8.2%, respectively. In the rural sample, respondents with primary education had a slightly lower fertility than those with no education, but the respondents with secondary and tertiary education showed marked differences than those with primary education, especially in the 20-39 year age groups. The differences among the youngest (15-19) year age group and the older (40-44) and (45-49) age groups were not large. The pattern for the urban sample was similar to the rural pattern, except the differences for respondents 40-44 and 45-49 were relatively larger than for rural respondents in the same age group. In general, education serves to facilitate the acceptance of new ideas and practices. Papua New Guinea's high fertility may be interpreted in terms of social and cultural factors which favor high fertility, namely marriage is the norm and women marry young. There is some evidence of possible decline in fertility levels as indicated by the more refined measures, i.e., total fertility rate and gross and net reproduction rates.