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FERTILITY 4
Fertility is the most important component of population dynamics and plays a major role in
changing the size and structure of the population of a given area. Ethiopia, like most countries in sub-
Saharan Africa, is characterized by rapid population growth, which is influenced by a high level of
fertility. Comprehensive information on fertility and the factors affecting it were not totally available
until the results of the 1990 National Family and Fertility Survey became available (CSA, 1993). Since
then, no detailed information has been obtained to evaluate fertility trends and the magnitude of change
in fertility. The Ethiopia DHS fills this data gap and generates detailed information on fertility that will
be useful for the formulation of policies and the design of programs.
Current fertility levels, trends and
differentials in fertility, cumulative fertility, birth
intervals, age at first birth, and adolescent
fertility are examined in this chapter. The
fertility indicators presented in this chapter are
based on information obtained from women age
15-49. All women who were interviewed in the
survey were asked to report on the total number
of sons and daughters who were living at home,
the number living elsewhere, and the number
who had died. A complete birth history was then
obtained, including for each birth, name,
whether the birth was single or multiple, month
and year of birth, survival status, and age at
death for dead children.
4.1 CURRENT FERTILITY
The current level of fertility refers to
data on live births occurring in the five-year
period preceding the survey, which was
obtained from the birth history data. From this
information, reported measures of fertility were
Table 4.1 Current fertility
Age-specific and cumulative fertility rates and the crude birth
rate for the five years preceding the survey, by residence,
Ethiopia 2000
____________________________________________________
Residence
______________
Age group Urban Rural Total
____________________________________________________
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
60 123 110
149 266 244
156 289 264
160 264 248
97 199 183
33 109 100
4 27 24
TFR 15-49
TFR 15-44
GFR
3.3
3.3
111
6.4
6.3
211
5.9
5.7
193
CBR
30.7 42.9 41.3
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Note: Rates are for the period 1-60 months preceding the survey.
Rates for age group 45-49 may be slightly biased due to truncation.
TFR: Total fertility rate for ages 15-49 expressed per woman
GFR: General fertility rate (births ÷ no. of women 15-44) expressed
per 1,000 women
CBR: Crude birth rate expressed per 1,000 population
ASFR: Age-specific fertility rate expressed per 1,000 women
computed and presented in Table 4.1. The reported summary measures include age-specific fertility rates
(ASFRs), 1 total fertility rates (TFRs) for women age 15-44 and 15-49, the general fertility rate (GFR),
and the crude birth rate (CBR). The ASFRs represent the number of live births per 1,000 women in the
age group. The TFR is the number of children a woman would have by the end of her reproductive years
if she experienced the current rate of childbearing at each age of her childbearing years assuming that
she survived to the end of her reproductive age. The GFR is defined as the annual number of births per
1 Numerators of the ASFRs are calculated by summing the number of live births that occurred in the period 1-60
months preceding the survey (determined by the date of interview and the date of birth of the child) and classifying
them by age (in five-year groups) of the mother at the time of birth (determined by the mother’s birth date). The
denominators of the rates are the number of woman-years lived in each of the specified five-year age groups during
the 1-60 months preceding the survey.
Fertility* 37