Factors affecting family size in rural Bangladesh

This was a cross sectional study which was conducted to estimate the family size and to identify the factors influencing family size in rural areas of Bangladesh. Respondents of 150 households were interviewed through interview schedule and in-depth questionnaires. The size of the family was observed as 4.59 persons where nearly half of the respondents (48%) having less than five members. Age of the respondent, number of children, age of the first and last child, average monthly income, number of rooms in the house, persons living in the main dwelling houses, number of earning persons having audio-visual assets had statistically significant association with the size of the family and all were with higher percentage in big family. Middle-income group was more in the small and big family category (75% and 65.40% respectively). The higher income group was more common in big family than small one (23.10% and 8.30% respectively). There was significant association between family size & average monthly income (p < 0.05). Number of earning persons, housing type, number of rooms in the house and persons living in the main dwelling houses were also interdependent with average monthly income and proved to be a factor for family size determination. The study emphasises that family planning activities should be intensified with modification of educational programs in mass media to attract the rural population regarding family size.