Childbearing patterns of second generation immigrants in Sweden

Lotta Persson, Statistics Sweden

Women born abroad have the highest fertility in Sweden whereas the second generation immigrants seem to have the lowest. In 2008 the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for women born abroad was 2.20 and for Swedish-born women with Swedish-born parents the TFR was 1.86 whereas women of the so-called second generation had a TFR as low as 1.68. The purpose of the study is to provide better understanding of fertility trends for women born in Sweden with foreign born parents. The childbearing patterns of the second generation immigrants are compared with the patterns of the Swedish-born with Swedish-born parents and the foreign born women. Childbearing patterns by birth order are studied for different sub-groups depending on in which country they have their roots. Results show that women of the second generation with background from the Nordic countries have very similar birth patterns as the Swedish-born with a full Swedish background. On the contrary, second generation women with background from EU-countries have lower fertility and that also seems to apply for women born in Sweden with a background from a country with medium HDI (Human Development Index). This study examines whether the lower fertility for certain sub-groups is related to socio-economic factors with focus on educational levels and labor market attachment.