Original scientific paper
DETERMINANTS OF POPULATION REPRODUCTION IN CROATIA
Alica Wertheimer-Baletić
; Croatian Academy of Science and Art, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
In this paper we have analysed essential determinants of population reproduction in Croatia in the second
half of 20th century. Both natality and mortality tended to decline, but the natality decline, after a shorter
period of baby-boom, was more rapid, while the mortality declined more rapidly in the beginning and
stagnated in the second part of the period, obviusly under the impact of average ageing. The crude birth
rate especially fell in 1990th as a consequence of troubled times and the loss of younger people during the
independence war. The natural increase of population declined drastically, from 12,5 per thousand in
1950, to 0,7 per thousand in 1990, and to negative rates in the period 1991-2001, with –2,0 per thousand in
2001. The same tendencies are recorded in the total fertility rate and the gross and net reproduction rates,
which started to fall earlier and are presently much below replacement level. The factors behind these
tendencies are then analysed: the number of women in the fertile age in total population, as well as
changes in the age structure of fertile women as a demographic factor, and the declien in age specific
fertility rates, as a social factor. All these factors were negative from the standpoint of population
reproduction and in recent years resulted in the decline in the total number of population in Croatia.
Keywords
Population growth; depopulation; aging of fertile population; population reproduction
Hrčak ID:
103494
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2003.
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