Fertility in Argentina at the beginning of the 21st century: the end of the plateau? Effects of education on changes

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of Argentina’s fertility behavior disaggregated by level of education of the mother in the 21st century, and focuses on the evolution of adolescent fertility during the same period. Unlike what other countries from the region have experienced in the last two decades, where fertility decline occurred almost uninterruptedly, Argentina’s fertility had a stable behavior, similar to a plateau, from the beginning of the 21st century until 2014. Since then, it began a sustained decline similar to that evidenced in neighboring countries. Data from vital statistics, INDEC population estimates and projections are used, and data from INDEC Household Surveys and the 2010 National Population and Housing Census are used for the analysis by education level. The analysis shows a significant gap in fertility levels between the most and least educated women, mainly in adolescent fertility. This gap is a reflection of inequity, given that high fertility rates mainly affect women from the most vulnerable social strata.

Keywords:
Fertility; Adolescent fertility; Education level; Argentina