Recent trends in cohort fertility of migrant women in the Netherlands

Mila van Huis, Statistics Netherlands
Joop Garssen, Statistics Netherlands

Over the past decades the fertility level of non-western migrants in the Netherlands has converged to that of native women. This convergence is generally considered as a sign of integration into Dutch society. In this paper we analyse the cohort fertility of Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese and Antillean women, the four largest migrant groups in the Netherlands. Is the earlier observed fertility reduction also apparent in more recent birth cohorts, and what are the trends in fertility behaviour of the growing second generation? We use register data to analyse the fertility of different birth cohorts of migrant women. Aspects of fertility studied include childlessness, average age at first birth and completed fertility. For the second generation the relation between the level of education and fertility is also taken into consideration. Our first results show that the average number of children of migrant women continues to converge to that of native women. The fertility rates for the youngest cohorts of Surinamese and Antillean women are similar to those of native women, whereas Moroccan and Turkish women are approaching this level. There is less convergence however in the share of childlessness. Childlessness is much less common among Moroccan and Turkish women. This also holds for younger generations.