Social, biological, and political considerations on fertility in Arab populations.

In analyzing fertility in the Arab countries crude birth rate total fecundity rate and age specific fertility rates were measured. The data was obtained from United Nations UNICEF and the World Bank. In the early 1980s 13 of the countries had birth rates 40/1000. The majority of countries showed a decline in their crude birth rate (CBR) between 1960-83 except Somalia which increased. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Tunisia Lebanon and Kuwait had the largest CBR decreases followed by Morocco Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The global fecundity rate (GFR) shows the number of expected births a woman lives through her reproductive period having children at the prevailing rate for each age. The GFR in these countries is much higher than those of non Moslem countries in the area. Results show that the fertility of Arab countries are in a gradual decline but remain high and many have a CBR over 40/1000. In the last 20 years Saudi Arabia with the largest population of oil producing countries has had a decreasing CBR. It is not in agreement with its high GFR but this can be attributed to the large number of immigration workers in the country. The UAE showed a decrease in CBR from 46/1000 to 27/1000 the largest decrease in these countries. This decline coincided with the economic development due to oil production. Kuwait had a 25.5% decrease in CBR but less than Tunisia and Lebanon. The fertility decline in Kuwait intensified in the middle 1970s; the decline in northern Africa began in the late 1960s. There were declines in birth rates in the North African countries in the early 1970s except for Tunisia. The rapid declines in fertility can be attributed to the countries socioeconomic and political situations.