

Multilingual Demographic Dictionary, second unified edition, English volume

Non-marital fertility rate

Multilingual Demographic Dictionary, second unified edition, English vol.
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Non-marital fertility rate  ( NON-MARITAL fertility rate)

The term fertility rate 1 is often used when the denominator of the birth rate is restricted to a group of individuals of the same sex in the reproductive ages (620-1). This denominator is commonly the mid-year population in the stated period, but it may also be the number of years lived by the group during the period, or the mean size of the group. Unless otherwise indicated, these rates are female fertility rates 2, and the rates are calculated for groups of women; the number of years lived by a given number of women in an interval is called the number of woman years 3. Male fertility rates 4 are computed sometimes in an analogous manner. Fertility rates are generally expressed as births per thousand (implied: individuals of the same category — sex, age, marital status, etc. — cf. 133-4*). Marital fertility rates 5 or legitimate fertility rates 5 relate the total number of legitimate births (610-3) to the number of currently married women; non-marital fertility rates 6 or illegitimate fertility rates 6 relate the total number of illegitimate births (610-4) to the number of single, widowed and divorced women. Overall fertility rates 7 make no distinction according (610-1) to the marital status of the parents. The general fertility rate 8 relates the total number of births to all women of reproductive age regardless of marital status. Rates based on a narrower age range (usually one-year or five-year age groups) are called age-specific fertility rates 9 or age-specific birth rates 9.

  • 1. In many expressions used in this and following paragraphs, birth rate is used synonymously with fertility rate.
  • 5. Marital fertility or legitimate fertility: the fertility of married persons (see 635-1).
  • 6. Non-marital fertility or illegitimate fertility: the fertility of unmarried persons.