Fertility Behaviour of Women and Their Household Characteristics: A Case Study of Punjab, Pakistan

The total fertility rate in Pakistan is as high as 5.4, that is result of low contraceptive prevalence rate of only 28 percent. By using probit model on primary data taken from a sample of 1000 women (15-49 years) from two districts of Punjab (Pakistan), i.e. Bahawalpur and Lahore, we have analyzed the factors related to household characteristics which are responsible for low contraceptive prevalence among married women. The husband education, income of the husband, husband’s age at marriage, number of living children, number of sons, household income, and urbanity of the household are major determinants of contraceptive prevalence among women. While son preference and number of living daughters in the household deter the contraceptive use. In the short-term implementation of minimum marriage age act and the stress on rural areas may be effective to increase the contraceptive use. For the long-term, provision of education and employment along with awareness about gender equity need policy attention.