patterns of population growth in nepal - Institute for Social and ...

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proportion of ever-married ~umen in the age group
of 20-24. This has increased from 92.1 per cent
in 1971 to 94 per cent in 1976. However, there
has been a drop after 1976 as the proportion of
.ever-married women in the age group 20-24 has
dropped from 94.0 per cent in 1976 to 86.9 per cent
in 1981 and to 85.2 per cent in 1986 (Table 4.5).
One change that has been observed is that there has
been an increasing proportion of singles in the
younger age group 15-19. The proportion of single
or never-married in the age group 15-19 has increased
from 39.3 per cent in 1971 to 61.8 per cent
in 1986. Thus the higher proportion of ever-married
w:>men at the peak of their reproductive span is an
important factor for the higher level of fertility
in Nepal.
The persistent high birth rate in Nepal is
supported by the larger propor tion of the younger
female population in the age group of 0-14. In
fact, the proportion shows an increasing trend in
successive censuses: 38.55%, 40.50% and 40.74% in
1961, 1971 and 1981, respectively. Due to the
higher proportion of younger female proportion in the