Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

54 | Fertility
4.4 CHILDREN EVER BORN AND SURVIVING
Data on the number of children ever born reflect the accumulation of births over the past 30
years and therefore have limited relevance to current fertility levels, particularly when the country has
experienced a decline in fertility. Moreover, the data are subject to recall error, which is typically
greater for older than for younger women. Nevertheless, the information on children ever born (or
parity) increases our understanding of a number of issues. The parity data show how average family
size varies across age groups. The percentage of women in their forties who have never had children
also provides an indicator of the level of primary infertility or the inability of women to bear children.
Comparison of the differences in the mean number of children ever born and surviving reflects the
cumulative effects of mortality levels during the period in which women have been bearing children.
Table 4.5 shows the percent distribution of all women and currently married women by
number of children ever born, mean number of children ever born, and mean number of children
living. More than nine in ten women age 15-19 (94 percent) have never given birth. However, this
proportion declines to one in five (21 percent) among women age 25-29 and to less than 10 percent
among women age 30 and above, indicating that childbearing among Timorese women is very high.
On average, Timorese women nearing the end of their reproductive years have attained a parity of
about 6 children.
Table 4.5 Children ever born and living
Percent distribution of all women and currently married women by number of children ever born, mean number of children ever born, and mean
number of living children, according to age group, Timor-Leste 2009-10
Mean
number
of
children
ever born
Mean
number
of living
children
Number of children ever born
Number
Age
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+ Total of women
ALL WOMEN
15-19 94.3 4.4 1.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 3,144 0.07 0.07
20-24 56.2 18.7 14.9 7.7 1.9 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 2,343 0.82 0.77
25-29 21.2 12.6 20.2 19.1 15.9 7.3 2.9 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.0 100.0 1,897 2.34 2.16
30-34 9.5 6.2 8.4 15.6 18.6 17.5 13.7 5.9 3.0 1.2 0.3 100.0 1,534 3.94 3.56
35-39 7.7 2.8 5.6 9.1 15.0 14.3 15.8 12.5 9.0 5.4 2.8 100.0 1,684 5.04 4.50
40-44 5.6 3.5 4.8 6.9 10.6 11.5 15.6 13.0 11.1 7.2 10.1 100.0 1,388 5.80 5.06
45-49 7.8 2.7 4.6 7.1 8.7 11.5 13.7 13.2 11.2 7.8 11.8 100.0 1,146 5.86 5.07
Total 39.0 7.9 8.4 8.5 8.6 7.3 6.9 4.9 3.7 2.3 2.5 100.0 13,137 2.73 2.44
CURRENTLY MARRIED WOMEN
15-19 32.1 51.6 12.7 3.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 243 0.88 0.83
20-24 10.3 37.4 30.8 16.2 4.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 1,100 1.70 1.60
25-29 5.4 13.7 24.4 23.3 19.6 9.0 3.6 0.8 0.2 0.1 0.0 100.0 1,516 2.85 2.64
30-34 3.0 5.6 8.2 16.7 20.4 19.3 15.0 6.6 3.4 1.3 0.4 100.0 1,362 4.29 3.88
35-39 2.9 1.8 5.1 9.6 15.9 15.2 17.5 13.4 9.9 5.7 3.0 100.0 1,514 5.41 4.84
40-44 1.8 2.8 4.5 7.0 10.1 11.7 16.8 13.8 12.3 8.1 11.1 100.0 1,211 6.19 5.42
45-49 4.6 2.1 3.8 6.4 9.2 11.4 14.5 13.7 12.7 8.5 13.3 100.0 960 6.25 5.40
Total 5.4 11.4 12.9 13.4 13.6 11.3 11.0 7.6 5.9 3.6 3.9 100.0 7,906 4.29 3.84
The same pattern is replicated for currently married women, except that the mean number of
children ever born is higher for currently married women (4.3 children) than for all women (2.7
children). The difference between all women and currently married women in the mean number of
children ever born is due to a substantial proportion of young and unmarried women in the former
category who exhibit lower fertility.
As expected, the mean number of children ever born and mean number of children surviving
rise with the increasing age of women. Comparison of the mean number of children ever born with
the mean number of living children reveals the experience of child loss among Timorese women. By
the end of their reproductive years (age 45-49), women in Timor-Leste have given birth, on average,
to 5.9 children, with 5.1 surviving.
Voluntary childlessness is uncommon in Timor-Leste, and currently married women with no
children are likely to be those who are sterile or unable to bear children. The level of childlessness
among married women at the end of their reproductive period can be used as an indicator of the level