Trends in fertility in Romania. Case-study in Bihor County

Simona Stanciu, University of Oradea, Romania

Trends in Fertility in Romania. -Case-study in Bihor County- The paper focuses on reviewing the trends in Fertility in Romania after the 1989 events, linked to the socio-economic and political issues and also on presenting the results of a case-study in Bihor county. The long term demographic changes concerning family and population in Europe showing up in the west at the beginning of the 70’s appear later in the Eastern Europe and accelerate during the 90’s. The more important characteristics of these demographical changes are: an increase in first marriage age, a significant increase of the proportion of common-law couples and outside marriage births, an increase in the rate of divorce and of the proportion of single parents and singles, a decrease in the number of children per family and a decrease in birth rate. In Romania, the economic transition has been closely followed by the demographic transition manifesting at national level and also at local level. The results of the decrease in fertility, the answer to the question “why are there fewer children being born”, the problem of assuming children, the relation between work and children raise and the state interventions by supporting the families and children are just a few of the problems that come up. The low fertility and the change in reproductive behavior has led to the reversal of population balance since 1992 in Romania and as is the case in other countries in the region, the gross birth rate has rapidly dropped, even below the long term demographic expectations. Along with abortion legalization after 1989 and then the introduction of family planning, fertility rate decreases also due to economic insecurity, lowering of life standards, of the decrease in matrimony and the increase in divorce rate and intense external migration made up of mainly young population.