Aspekte Interregionaler Unterschiede der Geburtenhäufigkeit in der Schweiz

Summary

The analysis of the regional differences in the birth rate is based on data from the 1970 census. The results show that religious as well as language-cultural factors influence the level of fertility in the regions (see table 2).The highest fertility occurs in the agricultural villages with a predominantly Roman Catholic population in the German speaking part of Switzerland. The lowest levels occur in the cities of French speaking Switzerland where Protestants form the majority. Fertility differentials associated with language and culture are not only found between the French and German speaking urban areas. In the French speaking area the differences in fertility level between rural and urban areas are more highly associated with differences in religion than in the German speaking area. Differences in the birth rate in West Switzerland are, consequently, more influenced by urbanisation than those in the German speaking part of the Federation.