Branislav Šprocha, INFOSTAT – Demographic Research Centre, Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences of the Slovak Academy of Science, Slovak Republic

Pages: 19 – 34

Abstract

The development of fertility in Slovakia, measured by conventional cross-sectional indicators, showed a dramatic decline after 1989 and a long-term stabilization at a very low level. Thanks to this, Slovakia was ranked among the countries with the lowest fertility rates in the world. However, the process of postponement of the childbirth significantly affected the timing and also the structure of women according to parity. It is the tempo and parity effects that are important factors which can significantly distort the value of fertility rate provided by conventionally cross-sectional indicators. The aim of the paper is therefore to point out the alternative possibilities in the transversal analysis of fertility in the data conditions of Slovakia, as well as to identify the extent and impacts of the tempo and parity effects and thus answering the question of what was and is the real intensity of fertility in Slovakia.