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General Fertility Rate
The General Fertility Rate is the birth rate of women of child-bearing age
(age 15-44). While births to women less than 15 or more than 44 years are
included in the general fertility rate, the population for those ages are not.
These births represent only a minute portion of the total births. In 1996,
for example, births to these women represented only about one-half of one
percent of all births in the state. These births are particularly important
from a medical perspective, but are not a significant proportion of the total.
The general fertility rate is calculated by dividing the total number of
births in a given year by the number of women aged 15 through 44 and
multiplying by 1,000. For example, in 1996, there were a total of 36,356 live
births to the residents of Arkansas. It is estimated that there were 513,682
women aged 15 through 44 in the state. Therefore, the General Fertility Rate
= (36,356 / 513,682) X 1,000 = 70.8 births per 1,000 women 15-44. In other
words, about one out of every 14 women of child-bearing years in Arkansas gave
birth in 1996. By way of comparison, the general fertility rate for the
United States in 1996 was 65.7 births per 1,000 women 15-44.
It should be noted that the calculation of the general fertility rate is
limited solely to live births. It is not a pregnancy rate and does not
include induced abortions, fetal deaths (stillbirths), or spontaneous
abortions (miscarriages).
The general fertility rate is the best overall indicator of reproductive
behavior and success. Another related statistic, the crude birth rate,
computed as the ratio of births to the total population, is more affected by
population differences in age and sex ratio. Therefore the crude birth rate
is a better measure of tax burden and other economic statistics than the
general fertility rate. The two statistics are not comparable.
For the period 1992 through 1996, the average general fertility rate was 68.0.
There is substantial variation in fertility rates throughout the state,
however. The highest fertility rates are clustered in eastern Arkansas in
ADH Health Management Area 9, as well as in several counties along the western
edge of the state. For the 1992-1996 period, general fertility rates averaged
from a low of 52.8 in Calhoun County to a high of 98.3 in Phillips County.
The high and low averages in the Health Management Areas for the same time
period, were 77.5 in Area 9 and 61.9 in Area 3.
General fertility rate varies a great deal by race. General fertility for
White women was 64.2 for the five-year period, while Black women had a much
higher rate at 85.7.
The Arkansas general fertility rate increased significantly in 1996, rising
from 68.2 to 70.8, and has been on the upswing since 1993. The U.S. rate,
which has been on the decline since 1990, remained roughly the same from 1995
to 1996. Typically, the state General Fertility Rate has paralleled that of
the U.S. and both have remained fairly constant since 1980.
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