Abstract

PIP: The impact of divorce and widowhood on fertility differs in different societies. In Egypt divorce is permissible by law for Moslems, who make up the majority of the population, and for Christians in some specific situations. The average divorce rate for the 1971-75 period was 2.1%. Spouses of a broken union by divorce may return to the marriage life with each other and "without a new marriage contract" within 3 months of divorce on agreement of the husband. The 1976 Egyptian population census showed that among females aged 16 and older, 19.7% had never been married before, 64.7% were currently married, and 15.6% were divorced or widowed. Comparing 1976 with 1960 population censuses, it was found that the proportion of divorced and widowed females in 1976 (15.6%) was less than in 1960 (20.4%). The proportion of never married females in 1976 was higher than in 1960 (12.1%). The proportion of women currently married in each reproductive age group did not depend exclusively on the average age at which women marry and the proportion who never marry. It was also affected by the incidence of divorce and the death of a spouse by the extent to which divorcees and widows remarried and by the time elapsing before remarriage. The age structure of married, divorced, and widowed Egyptian females is reported. The analysis relied primarily on the returns of the National Fertility Sample Survey conducted in 1974-75. Over 15,000 ever married women were interviewed. In the 1st stage of the stratified multistage sample 200 primary sample units (shiakhas and villages) were selected. More than 4/5 of the married respondents were in the childbearing age, i.e., less than age 50. 3.29% were younger than age 20. 31.02% of the divorced and widowed females were in the childbearing age. Most divorce events occurred when spouses were young. 48.5% of the females who were divorced during 1971-75 were younger than 25 years. Divorce reduces the proportion of the reproductive period during which women are exposed to intercourse and consequently would tend to have a depressing effect on fertility. 88% of all marriages were 1st marriages. Only 12% were 2nd, 3rd, or later marriages. Respondents whose marital status by the time of the interview was divorced or widowed had fewer averages of children ever born than married respondents. The standardized average of children ever born was 3.73 for respondents married to 1st husband, 3.15 to remarried respondents, and 2.42 to widowed and divorced respondents.