Demographic Processes: Fertility

This chapter addresses the first of the three basic demographic processes: fertility, mortalityMortality and migration. The importance of fertility to demographers and to society is recognized and the various ways of assessing fertility trends reviewed. Students are exposed to the various calculations that are utilized to measure the fertility attributes of a population, and trends in fertility patterns for the US and the world are described. Issues surrounding the reproductive process are discussed and their relevance for society reviewed.