Definition
Calculation
Relevant dimensions and subgroups
Preferred data type and data source
Data availability
Data periodicity
Rationale
Remarks
References
Work to do
DOCUMENTATION SHEET FOR: Indicator: 4. Total fertility rate SHORTLIST sub-division: A) Demographic and socio-economic factors Status: implementation section Date last modification of documentation sheet: 05-07-2010 |
Definition |  |
The mean number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she were to pass through her childbearing years conforming to the fertility rates by age of a given year. |
Calculation | |
Total fertility rate is computed as the mean number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she were to pass through her childbearing years (generally defined as 15-49) conforming to the fertility rates by age of a given year. It is computed by adding the fertility rates by age for women in a given year (the number of women at each age is assumed to be the same, i.e. mortality is assumed to be zero during the child-bearing period). |
Relevant dimensions and subgroups | |
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Preferred data type and data source | |
Preferred data type National population censuses, population registers Preferred data source Eurostat |
Data availability | |
Data are available for the EU-27 in the Eurostat database. The ISARE project on regional has not collected data on fertility rate. |
Data periodicity | |
Data are updated annually. |
Rationale | |
Basic demographic data. The total fertility rate is the completed fertility of a hypothetical generation and is also used to indicate the replacement level fertility, i.e. the fertility needed to compensate mortality loss. In more developed countries, a rate of 2.1 is considered to be replacement level. |
Remarks | |
Total fertility rate (TFR) is calculated as a period indicator (e.g. assuming that age-specific fertility levels remain constant in the future), not by birth cohorts. Completed fertility rate by birth cohort (CFR) refers to the average number of children at the end of reproductive period. TFR and CFR differ significantly if the timing of childbearing differs by time or by country. |
References | |
Work to do | |
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