Afghanistan Mortality Survey 2010 - Measure DHS

Figure 3.2 Age-specific Fertility Rates by Urban-Rural Residence300 Births per 1,000 women Urban Rural Total25020015010050015-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49Age group AMS 20103.2.2 Fertility DifferentialsTable 3.2 and Figure 3.3 present the differentials in the total fertility rate (TFR), the percentage ofwomen age 15-49 who are currently pregnant, and the mean number of children ever born (CEB) towomen age 40-49, by urban-rural residence, zone, region, education, wealth quintile and remotenessquintile. Women residing in the South zone have a higher TFR than women in the North and Centralzones. TFR varies by region, with women in the South Eastern and Eastern regions having an average ofone child more than women in the Central Highland region. The differentials in TFR across educationgroups are striking. Fertility decreases rapidly from 5.3 children per woman among women with noeducation to 2.8 children per woman among women who have a higher education. TFR is not uniformlyassociated with increasing wealth; however, women in the lowest wealth quintile have an average of 5.3children compared with women in the highest quintile who have 4.8 children. A similar pattern is seen forremoteness quintile with women in the least remote quintile having the lowest fertility.Table 3.2 also shows the percentage of women who reported being pregnant at the time of thesurvey. This percentage may be underreported since women may not be aware of a pregnancy, especiallyat the very early stages, and some women who are early in their pregnancy may not want to reveal thatthey are pregnant. Twelve percent of women reported being pregnant at the time of the survey. Ruralwomen are more likely to be pregnant than urban women. The percentage of women currently pregnantranges from a low of 9 percent among women in the Southern region to a high of 15 percent among thosein the South Eastern region. The proportion of women currently pregnant varies considerably by women’seducation, from 13 percent among women with no education to less than 6 percent among women withonly secondary education.Table 3.2 also presents a crude assessment of trends in the various subgroups by comparingcurrent fertility with a measure of completed fertility (the mean number of CEB to women age 40-49).When fertility levels have been falling, the TFR will be substantially lower than the mean number of CEBto women 40-49. The comparison suggests that fertility has fallen by nearly two births during the past fewdecades from 6.9 births per woman to 5.1. Fertility has declined in all subgroups as seen in Table 3.2 withthe difference between current and completed fertility highest among women with secondary education(2.4).Fertility, Marriage, and Family Planning | 41