Fertility Dynamics of Ethnic Groups in Croatia from 1998 to 2012 Cover Image

Dinamika fertiliteta etničkih skupina u Hrvatskoj od 1998. do 2012.
Fertility Dynamics of Ethnic Groups in Croatia from 1998 to 2012

Author(s): Dario Pavić
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Institut za migracije i narodnosti
Keywords: ethnicity; fertility; births; Croatia; Census

Summary/Abstract: Fertility dynamics of minority ethnic groups in some countries may differ from that of the majority group, depending on their economic, social and cultural status. This study aimed to assess the change in the general fertility rate and total fertility rate of ethnic groups in the Republic of Croatia from 1998 to 2012. The number of fertile women in the analyzed period was estimated by linear model, based on their number in the years 2001 and 2011, and birth data for each year were available from the form DEM-1. The second objective was to compare differences in general fertility rates of ethnic groups in the 2011. For this analysis the standardization of the fertility rate was performed, the population of Croatian ethnicity being the standard. Also, the decomposition of the differences between the general fertility rate of Croats and ethnic minorities was performed, and the components were age-specific fertility rates and age structure. The analysis of time trends in fertility rates showed that the increase in fertility rates is most likely the result of different ways of enumeration of the population in 2001 and 2011, while the real trend of decline in fertility observed in Roma and Albanian ethnicity is due to the change in traditional role of women and the general improvement of the status of women in these populations. Contemporary differences in fertility of ethnic groups are mainly the result of differences in the age-specific fertility rates of ethnic groups, rather than differences in the age structure of fertile contingents. The absolute differences in general fertility rates between ethnic groups are not excessive and are the result of physical, economic and social isolation of ethnic minorities.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 67-93
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: Croatian