Different Fertility Regimes in One Country: An Event History Analysis from Menarche to Fifth Birth among Roma Population in Turkey

Kumru Döne , PhD Candidate, Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies
Ismet Koç, Hacettepe University Institute of Population Studies

Turkey, as a country at post-transition stage of fertility transition, is not experiencing this transition in a homogeneous way. In addition to regional differences, ethnic differences in particular are very decisive in Turkey. It has previously been shown that Kurdish and Arab ethnic groups and Syrian migrants have different fertility regimes as opposed to Turkey as a whole. With this study, the fertility level and pattern of the Roma population, which constitutes about 2.4 percent of the population of Turkey, are revealed for the first time over the timing of reproductive events from menarche to fifth birth. The data from "2023-TR-Roma-DHS”, based on a sample representing the Roma population in Turkey is utilised to achieve this objective. The results of the study indicate that TFR of Roma women (2.79) is 1.1 births more than TFR of women in Turkey (1.70). Roma women experience each of reproductive events, except for menarche, earlier than women in Turkey. On average, a Roma woman enters her reproductive period at age 14.1; gets married at age 17.6, and has the first, second, third, fourth and fifth births at age 19.7, 23.0, 28.6, 33.9 and 36.2 respectively. The reproductive life span of Roma women from menarche to fifth birth is 5 years shorter than that of women in Turkey. These results show that fertility transition of the Roma population is in the late-transition stage, while the general population of Turkey is in the post-transition stage, once again pointing to the different fertility regimes experienced in Turkey.

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 Presented in Session P1. Fertility, Family, Life Course