Bangladesh 2014

Table 6.1 Fertility preferences by number of living children
Percent distribution of currently married women age 15-49 by desire for children, according to number of living
children, Bangladesh 2014
Number of living children 1
Desire for children 0 1 2 3 4 5 6+
Total
15-49
Have another soon 2 59.1 18.2 4.4 1.3 0.7 0.9 0.1 10.5
Have another later 3 30.0 56.5 9.5 3.3 0.9 0.3 0.2 19.7
Have another,
undecided when 1.7 3.0 0.9 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 1.2
Undecided 2.8 4.5 3.5 0.9 0.9 1.6 0.6 2.7
Want no more 1.5 15.4 74.3 80.1 80.6 78.4 79.9 56.7
Sterilized 4 0.3 0.8 4.9 11.1 10.5 11.9 10.1 5.8
Declared infecund 4.7 1.5 2.4 3.2 6.3 6.9 9.0 3.3
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 1,243 4,128 5,108 3,378 1,670 798 533 16,858
1
The number of living children includes the current pregnancy.
2
Wants next birth within two years
3
Wants to delay next birth for two or more years
4
Includes both female and male sterilization
Overall, 63 percent of married women age 15-49, including 6 percent who have been sterilized, do
not want any more children. The proportion of women who want to stop childbearing or are sterilized
increases rapidly with the number of living children, from 16 percent of women with one child to 79 percent
of women with two living children, and over 90 percent of women with three or more children. On the other
hand, the proportion of women who want to have another child decreases with the number of living children.
More than three in four women with one living child want to have another child. The proportion of women
who want to have another child declines sharply to 15 percent among women with two living children. Thus,
the vast majority of married women want to either space their next birth or cease childbearing altogether.
6.2 DESIRE TO LIMIT CHILDBEARING
The proportion of women who want no more children is an important and easily understood measure
of fertility preference. Figure 6.1 shows that the proportion of currently married women who either want no
more children or who have been sterilized increased from 59 percent in 2004 to 63 percent in 2014. However,
there has been a slight decline in the proportion that desires to limit child bearing from 65 percent in 2011
to 63 percent in 2014 (NIPORT et al. 2005).
Figure 6.1 Trends in fertility preferences among currently married women age 15-49,
2004-2014
Percent
59
62
65
63
21 21 20 20
13 12 11 11
7
5 4
7
2004 BDHS 2007 BDHS 2011 BDHS 2014 BDHS
Have another soon Have another later Want no more or sterilized Other
66 • Fertility Preferences