1980 HUNGARIAN CENSUS OF POPULATION Summary data (1984)

IX. THE DEVELOPMENT OF FERTILITY

children per 100 women), the fertility of the 20-29 aged grew one-and-a-half-fold (from 83 to 132 children), the rise in the fertility of the 30-39 aged was more moderate (11 percent), and there was a minimal decrease in the fertility of older 40-49 aged women 1. 6 percent, (from 192 to 189 children). The positive effect of child-care-allowance on fertility can be proved by numbers; in 1970 the average number of children of those on child-care-allowance was higher in every age group than of all earners, by 1980 this tendency appeared even stronger. In the most active period of reproductive age among women 20-29 aged there were 107 children per 100 earner women, and 146 per 100 earner women on child-care-allowance in 1970. The same indicators are 132 and 163 in 1980 respectively. The most important difference in the distribution by the number of children between earners and dependants is that the proportion of childless and those with one child or with 2 children is lower among dependants than among earners. The proportion of those with three or with four or more children is much lower among the earners than among the dependents. In correspondence with the general tendency of fertility, the increase is highest in the proportion of those with two children both for earners (300 percent) and for dependants (267 percent). The proportion of those with three children increased only slightly (by 6 percent) among earner women, but among the dependants the increase was considerable (58 percent), only one fifth of earner women and only 45 percent of dependant women rear 4 or more children. These data suggest that earner women are able to take care of one or two children but can hardly harmonize the family duties and active earner activity with three or more children. In the number of children distribution of married women in reproductive age there was a shift in favour of those with two children in the past 3 decades, the proportion of childless and those having 3 or more children decreased. This tendency holds true - although to different extent - both for earners and dependants. There was a gradual decrease in the proportion of those having one child among married dependant women in reproductive age since 1960, this proportion increased moderately for earners between 1949 and 1970 (from 29 percent to 36 percent), then in the seventies it fell back to 32 percent. At the same time the proportion of those with two children increased gradually among both the earners and the dependants. The increase was especially considerable in the seventies first of all among the earners, as a result of which in 1980 those with two children constituted the largest group (with a 44 percent proportion) exceeding the proportion (32 percent) of those with one child. The shifts in the proportions suggest that a widening group of earner women consider ideal the "two-children-family-model". Unfortunately there was no mentionable change in the rearing of the third or further children. The number of children distribution of married earner and dependent women in reproductive age . , , b (percentage) Year Total Number of children Year Total 0 1 2 3 4-X Earners 1949 100. 0 33.7 29.1 19.5 9.0 8. 7 1960 100. 0 19.7 32.6 27.7 11.1 8.9 197 0 100. 0 15. 5 35.9 32. 5 10. 1 6. 0 1980 100. 0 11.7 31.7 43.5 9.6 3. 5 Dependants 1949 100. 0 16. 1 25. 2 23. 6 13.9 21. 2 1960 100. 0 11.8 26.8 29. 2 15.2 17. 0 1970 100. 0 7.7 24.7 36.0 16. 3 15. 3 1980 100. 0 8.4 20. 3 39.8 16. 9 14. 6 This table shows how the changes in the employment and in the attitude towards family and the different government measures affected the fertility of women. In the case of the very young (15-19 aged) the proportion of childless shows considerable decrease both for earners and dependants (by 32 percent and 38 percent respectively), contrary to those with one child whose proportion rose twofold in the case of earners and rose by 26 percent in the case of dependants. The proportion of those having two children rose more than threefold for both earners and dependants. The proportion of those with three children did not change in the case of earners and grew more than two-and-a-half-fold in the case of dependants. The proportion of young women rearing four or more children is insignificant and decreasing. 133