LAUSR

Unexpectedly, Sri Lanka started demonstrating an increase in fertility, since the early part of the new millennium. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 5.3 births per woman in the 1950s which declined to 3.4 in 1981 and further to 1.9 during the period 1995–2000 unexpectedly soared to the 2.3 level as evidenced by the 2006–07 DHS. Observed fertility increase continued and reached TFR of 2.4 by 2012, which is the ever-reported highest value during the past 15–20 years. This trend is a result of several factors including a change in “value of children.” The declining trend in the mean age at marriage and contraceptive prevalence during the past decade may have contributed to this unexpected trend. Data collected during the past 15–20 years have shown an increase in the perceived benefits from children. Many pro-natal sympathizers justify pronatalistic activities by arguing that the country needs more births. A large proportion of couples prefer to have two or three children. Having experienced natural (tsunami) and man-made (civil strife by Tamil and Muslim extremists) disasters, most couples have revised their fertility preferences. Apart from these factors, all main ethnic groups in Sri Lanka are concerned about their share in the country’s overall population, which would have also contributed to the change in the value of children in contemporary Sri Lanka.