Marriage and fertility in China: 1950-1989

"This article presents a graphical and a life table analysis that summarizes some 14,000 values of data by single year of age and time on marriage and fertility in China up to 1989. In the 1970s, age at first marriage shifted upward by about four years, and fertility dramatically declined. The age at marriage and childbearing decreased in [the] 1980s, which are associated with some socio-economic factors. Fertility rates slightly increased in the second half of the 1980s, from their low level in 1984. The analysis also reveals that Chinese marriage and childbearing remain virtually universal and occurred at rather young ages." Data are from the 1988 2-in-1,000 fertility and contraceptive survey. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND ITA)