Recent course of fertility in Western Europe

An examination of recent fertility movements in 15 industrialized countries shows that in all of them fertility has tended to fall since 1965, and that there has been a tendency for it to decline to a level never previously observed in peacetime. In countries with the lowest fertility there have recently been some signs of stabilization. Changes in the distribution of ages at maternity have reinforced this trend; mean completed family size has been affected less.

We have used weighted averages to calculate monthly fertility rates in an endeavour to pinpoint turning points more precisely. Such indices may also be used to describe seasonal movements in fertility.