Provincial Fertility Trends and Patterns

Abstract

In examining fertility trends and patterns in China, the lack of detailed sub-national statistics has restricted analyses to the national level. Generalisations at this level have inevitably neglected variations in population developments in the twenty-nine provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions (generally referred to as provinces hereafter) that make up China. Given the size of the population, vast territory, and socio-economic differentials, documentation of recent fertility trends and patterns at the subnational level is clearly in order. Only when this has been built up will it be possible to define more precisely, and interpret more appropriately, demographic events in this most populous nation.