Volume 36 - Article 39 | Pages 1149–1184  

Depressed fertility among descendants of immigrants in Sweden

By Gunnar Andersson, Lotta Persson, Ognjen Obućina

This article is part of the Special Collection 23 "Childbearing among the Descendants of Immigrants in Europe"

Abstract

Background: Previous research shows evidence of an interrelation between family formation and the migration of immigrants in Europe. Less research has been conducted on the fertility and family behavior of the descendants of immigrants.

Objective: Our study provides analyses of the childbearing behavior of daughters of immigrants in Sweden. The context is that of a country with near-replacement-level fertility and social policies oriented towards social equality.

Methods: The study is based on register data covering 1998-2012, which allows for highly detailed analyses of the childbearing behavior of 20 country origin groups of second-generation women. By means of event history techniques, we analyze the transition to any first, second, and third births.

Results: Our analyses show that most groups of descendants of immigrants have lower fertility than those with a full Swedish background. The risk of having a first child is particularly depressed, and the risk of having a second child is also lower for daughters of immigrants than for women with two Swedish-born parents. In contrast, many groups of immigrant-descendant two-child mothers display elevated third-birth risks.

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the necessity to account for parity-specific differences in fertility when studying the fertility of descendants of migrants.

Contribution: Our study is based on data large enough to allow for a disaggregated analysis by birth order and parental country background. It shows that, on average, the fertility of women in the so-called second generation in Sweden is lower than that of women with a full Swedish background.

Author's Affiliation

• Gunnar Andersson - Stockholms Universitet, Sweden EMAIL
• Lotta Persson - Statistiska centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden), Sweden EMAIL
• Ognjen Obućina - Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED), France EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Marriage and divorce of immigrants and descendants of immigrants in Sweden
Volume 33 - Article 2

Lives saved, lives lost, and under-reported COVID-19 deaths: Excess and non-excess mortality in relation to cause-specific mortality during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden
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Disentangling the Swedish fertility decline of the 2010s
Volume 47 - Article 12

Co-ethnic marriage versus intermarriage among immigrants and their descendants: A comparison across seven European countries using event-history analysis
Volume 39 - Article 17

Mixed marriages between immigrants and natives in Spain: The gendered effect of marriage market constraints
Volume 39 - Article 1

Life-table representations of family dynamics in the 21st century
Volume 37 - Article 35

Immigrant fertility in Sweden, 2000-2011: A descriptive note
Volume 30 - Article 30

Occupational trajectories and occupational cost among Senegalese immigrants in Europe
Volume 28 - Article 19

Economic Uncertainty and Family Dynamics in Europe: Introduction
Volume 27 - Article 28

Labor-market status, migrant status and first childbearing in Sweden
Volume 27 - Article 25

High Suburban Fertility: Evidence from Four Northern European Countries
Volume 21 - Article 31

Cohort fertility patterns in the Nordic countries
Volume 20 - Article 14

Childbearing dynamics of couples in a universalistic welfare state: The role of labor-market status, country of origin, and gender
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Migration and first-time parenthood: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan
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Understanding parental gender preferences in advanced societies: Lessons from Sweden and Finland
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Educational attainment and ultimate fertility among Swedish women born in 1955-59
Volume 14 - Article 16

Education and childlessness: The relationship between educational field, educational level, and childlessness among Swedish women born in 1955-59
Volume 14 - Article 15

Social differentials in speed-premium effects in childbearing in Sweden
Volume 14 - Article 4

Demographic trends in Sweden: An update of childbearing and nuptiality up to 2002
Volume 11 - Article 4

A summary of Special Collection 3: Contemporary Research on European Fertility: Perspectives and Developments
Volume 10 - Article 13

Children's experience of family disruption and family formation: Evidence from 16 FFS countries
Volume 7 - Article 7

Life-table representations of family dynamics in Sweden, Hungary, and 14 other FFS countries: A project of descriptions of demographic behavior
Volume 7 - Article 4

Fertility developments in Norway and Sweden since the early 1960s
Volume 6 - Article 4

Demographic trends in Sweden: Childbearing developments in 1961-2000, marriage and divorce developments in 1971-1999
Volume 5 - Article 3

Childbearing Developments in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden from the 1970s to the 1990s: A Comparison
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Contemporary Research on European Fertility: Introduction
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