C URRENT F ERTILITY L EVELS AND D IFFERENTIALS

The current level of fertility refers to live births in the three-year period preceding the survey. This information was obtained from birth history data and is presented in Table 6.1. The summary measures include age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs),² total fertility rates (TFRs) for women age 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 a common measure of current fertility and is defined as the total number of births a woman would have by the end of her childbearing years if she were to pass through those years bearing children at the currently observed age-specific fertility rates. The GFR is

1 During data collection, interviewers recorded Gregorian month and year of birth. However, when the respondent knew only the Khmer month and year of birth, the interviewer used a chart specially designed for the CDHS to convert Khmer dates into Gregorian dates.

2 Numerators of the three-year ASFRs are calculated by summing the number of live births that occurred in the period 1-36 months preceding the survey (determined by the date of the interview and the date of birth of the child) and classifying them by age (in 5-year groups) of the mother at the time of the 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 5-year age groups during the 1-36 months preceding the survey.

F

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defined as the annual number of births per 1,000 women age 15-44. The CBR is the total number of births occurring in a given year per 1,000 population.

The total fertility rate in Cambodia for the three years preceding the survey indicates that if fertility rates were to remain constant at the level prevailing during the period 2012-2014, a Cambodian woman would bear 2.7 children during her lifetime. The average Cambodian woman will give birth to 1.1 children by age 25³ and 1.9 children by age 30. The TFR in urban areas is 2.1 births per woman, almost one child lower than the rate in rural areas (2.9 births per woman). An examination of age-specific rates by urban-rural residence indicates that the age pattern of fertility is quite different in urban and rural areas.

Fertility rates are higher in nearly every age group for rural women than for urban women. Among women age 15-19, fertility rates are quite low in both urban and rural areas (21 and 66 per 1,000 women, respectively). Among rural women, rates quickly increase to reach their maximum at age 20-24 (179 per 1,000) and remain quite high at age 25-29 (156 per 1,000) before declining regularly above age 29. Among urban women, fertility rates increase from 21 per 1,000 at age 15-19 to 101 per 1,000 at age 20-24 and reach a maximum of 135 per 1,000 at age 25-29. They then decline regularly, similar to rates among rural women.

The CBR, also presented in Table 6.1, is 22.0 per 1,000 population. The GFR, the average annual number of births per 1,000 women age 15-44 for the three years prior to the survey, is 98. As with the TFR, the GFR and CBR vary by urban-rural residence. The GFR for rural women is 103 births per 1,000 women, which is about 36 percent higher than that for urban women (76 births per 1,000 women). Also, the CBR in rural areas (22.4 per 1,000 population) is approximately 10 percent higher than the CBR in urban areas (20.2 per 1,000 population).

Table 6.1 Current fertility

Age-specific and total fertility rates, the general fertility rate, and the crude birth rate for the three years preceding the survey, by residence, Cambodia 2014

Residence Total Age group Urban Rural

15-19 21 66 57

20-24 101 179 162 25-29 135 156 152 30-34 92 104 102

35-39 56 50 51

40-44 11 18 17

45-49 3 5 4

TFR (15-49) 2.1 2.9 2.7

GFR 76 103 98

CBR 20.2 22.4 22.0 Notes: Age-specific fertility rates are per 1,000 women. Rates for age group 45-49 may be slightly biased due to truncation. Rates are for the period 1-36 months prior to the interview.

TFR: Total fertility rate, expressed per woman GFR: General fertility rate, expressed per 1,000 women age 15-44

CBR: Crude birth rate, expressed per 1,000 population

Table 6.2 presents differentials in fertility by urban-rural residence, province, education, and wealth quintile. There are large differences in fertility levels across provinces. Fertility is lowest in the capital city of Phnom Penh, at 2.0 children per woman, and highest in Preah Vihear/Stung Treng and Kratie, at 3.6 children per woman. Among the remaining provinces, total fertility ranges from 2.4 to 3.3.

Fertility is well known to be inversely related to level of education around the world, and Cambodian women demonstrate this universal pattern. A woman with no education (TFR of 3.3) has 0.2 children more

3 Calculated as the age-specific fertility rate for women age 15-19 plus the age-specific fertility rate for women age 20-24, multiplied by 5 (to take into account the five-year age group) and divided by 1,000.

than a woman with a primary school education (TFR of 3.1) and one child more than a woman with a secondary education or higher (TFR of 2.3). Fertility is also very closely associated with wealth. The disparity in fertility between the poorest women, who have the most children (3.8), and the richest women, who have the fewest (2.2), is 1.6 children per woman.

Table 6.2 Fertility by background characteristics

Total fertility rate for the three years preceding the survey, percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant, and mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49, by background characteristics, Cambodia 2014

Background

characteristic Total fertility rate

Percentage of women age 15-49 currently

pregnant

Mean number of children ever born to women age

40-49 Residence

Urban 2.1 4.9 3.0

Rural 2.9 5.4 4.0

Province

Banteay Meanchey 2.8 5.2 4.0 Kampong Cham 3.3 3.5 3.9 Kampong Chhnang 2.4 5.4 4.2 Kampong Speu 2.4 6.3 4.1 Kampong Thom 2.9 5.8 4.4

Kandal 2.5 5.7 3.9

Kratie 3.6 7.3 4.5

Phnom Penh 2.0 4.6 2.8 Prey Veng 3.0 4.9 3.5

Pursat 3.1 5.9 4.0

Siem Reap 2.7 5.2 3.9 Svay Rieng 2.5 5.7 3.4

Takeo 2.4 3.9 3.7

Otdar Meanchey 3.0 8.5 4.6

Battambang/Pailin 2.9 5.5 3.8

Kampot/Kep 2.5 4.9 3.9

Preah Sihanouk/Koh Kong 2.7 5.8 4.1 Preah Vihear/Stung Treng 3.6 9.5 5.2 Mondul Kiri/Ratanak Kiri 3.3 6.9 4.8 Education

No education 3.3 4.5 4.3

Primary 3.1 5.3 4.0

Secondary and higher 2.3 5.6 3.1 Wealth quintile

Lowest 3.8 5.2 4.4

Second 2.8 6.4 4.3

Middle 2.8 4.9 3.9

Fourth 2.4 5.2 3.7

Highest 2.2 4.9 3.0

Total 2.7 5.3 3.9

Note: Total fertility rates are for the period 1-36 months prior to the interview.

Table 6.2 includes another indicator of current fertility, the percentage of women who reported being pregnant at the time of the survey. This percentage may be underreported because women may not be aware of a pregnancy, especially at the very early stages, and some women who are early in their pregnancy may not want to reveal that they are pregnant. Five percent of women reported that they were pregnant at the time of the survey. The proportion of pregnant women in urban areas and rural areas is about the same. Kampong Cham and Takeo had the lowest proportion of pregnant women (4 percent), and Preah Vihear/Stung Treng (10 percent) and Otdar/Meanchey (9 percent) had the highest. The proportion of women who are currently pregnant rises slightly as education increases. There is no clear relationship between current pregnancy and wealth quintile.

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