Age at first birth in 19 countries.

Average age at 1st birth is a partial determinant of a countrys growth rate is related to the incidence of pregnancy complications and may be related to subsequent childbearing and socioeconomic status. World Fertility Survey data from 19 countries is used to examine intercountry variations in age at 1st birth. 10 Asian and Pacific 8 Latin American and 1 Middle East Country are examined. Median age at 1st birth by cohort was evaluated and a model age at 1st birth schedule was used to estimate the mean age at 1st birth for each cohort. For most countries the youngest cohorts show the least agreement between the means and the medians. For women 25-29 age at 1st birth ranges from 17.2 in Bangladesh to 26.3 in Korea. There is little variation between the Latin American and Caribbean countries. Age at 1st birth has remained relatively stable in most of the countries during the past 30 years. Korea is the exception where mean age at 1st birth has risen from 20.7 to 27.1 in 30 years. This appears to result from an increase in the age at marriage which rose from 17.8 in 1940 to 23.3 in 1970 resulting from migration to urban areas since World War II drafting of 20 year old men into the military expansion of university education for men and women and rapid economic growth. Changes across cohorts have been minor compared to the differences between countries. Asian countries have the lowest incidence of early 1st births (<17 years) due to high levels of economic development and widespread educational opportunities. Bangladesh has raised the legal age at marriage but there are many obstacles to implementation. In all countries except Jamaica the incidence of births to very young women has either remained the same or has decreased across cohorts. As development proceeds there are likely to be fewer early 1st births. (summary in FRE)