FERTILITY

The second indicator of fertility in Table 2.1, the Global Fertility Rate (TGF), expresses the average number of children would bear up to the end of her reproductive life, if current reproductive behaviour were to continue. The TGF is the fertility indicator most used in demographics, since it has the advantage of facilitating comparisons between different populations and periods of reference, since it is free from the effect of the population structure. According to the data in Table 2.1, the TGF for Mozambique is 5.9 children per woman. For the urban areas the figure is 5.2 children, and it is 6.2 for the rural areas. The lower fertility observed in urban areas is almost universal (although in Mozambique’s case it is still very high). This difference is usually explained by the higher educational and socio-economic level of the urban population, variables that are associated with lower fertility. Other explanations stress the economic advantages for rural households of a large number of descendants, particularly with regard to the availability of labour, and for security in old age. In an urban context, on the other hand, a large number of children would represent a disadvantage for the household economy.

Table 2.1 also shows the specific fertility rates, that is, the average number of live births for each 1,000 women of the ages corresponding to each age group. This information is also presented in Graph 2.1 by area of residence. These rates show the calendar of fertility, that is, the ages at which women bear their children. The shape of the curves corresponding to urban and rural areas is similar, which means that the distribution of the births by age of the women is similar in urban and rural areas. When we examine these curves we note distributions with an extended cusp, that is, with little variation among rates corresponding to the most important ages of the reproductive period (20 to 39 years). This shows that women bear children during a great part of their reproductive lives. Consistent with this distribution of fertility by age groups is the figure for the average fertility age, also shown in Table 2.1. This figure shows the average age at which women have children. The figure for the country is 31.1 years. There is no significant difference in this variable between urban and rural areas: 30.5 e 31.3 years, respectively.

Table 2.1 showed indicators of current fertility, that is, for the year the Census was held. On the other hand, Table 2.2 shows accumulated fertility, that is, the number of children born during the reproductive life of women. This table presents two indicators: the distribution of women by the number of live births, and the average number of

live births per woman according to her age. Thus, for example, among women aged 20 to 24 years, 24.6% still have no children, 28.4% have one child, 24.2% have two children, etc. On average, the women of this group have 1.6 children. The most important part of this table is the data for women of the age group 45-49 years, since this indicates complete fertility. Thus, 54.4% of the women in this age group have 6 of more children, only 5.9% have 1 child and 6.6% have two children. On average women at the end of their reproductive life have 5.9 children. This figure may be affected by a certain omission, probably due to errors of memory in declaring the children they have had.

TABLE 2.2: Percentage distribution of women by number of live births, and average number of live births by area of residence and age of the woman, Mozambique, 1997

The data in Table 2.2 also show that early motherhood is frequent in Mozambique, in both urban and rural areas. Thus, 28.9% of adolescent women (15 to 19 years of age) already have at least one child. According to Table 2.1, the specific fertility rate of this group is 107 births per 1,000 women. Adolescent women provide every year about 13.4% of the total births in the country. This contribution is rather higher in urban areas than in rural ones: 14.6% against 12.9%. This situation has merited very special attention from the Government, since it is linked to unwanted pregnancies, abortions, and various social, moral, economic and health problems, both for the children and for the adolescent women themselves.