Confounding all conventional wisdom, the fertility rate in the Islamic
Republic of Iran fell from around 7.0 births per woman in the early
1980s to 1.9 births per woman in 2006. That this, the largest and
fastest fall in fertility ever recorded, should have occurred in one of
the world's few Islamic Republics demands explanation. This book, based
upon a decade of research is the first to attempt such an explanation.
The book documents the progress of the fertility decline and displays
its association with social and economic characteristics. It addresses
an explanation of the phenomenal fall of fertility in this Islamic
context by considering the relevance of standard theories of fertility
transition. The book is rich in data as well as the application of
different demographic methods to interpret the data. All the available
national demographic data are used in addition to two major surveys
conducted by the authors. Demographic description is preceded by a
socio-political history of Iran in recent decades, providing a context
for the demographic changes. The authors conclude with their views on
the importance of specific socio-economic and political changes to the
demographic transition. Their concluding arguments suggest continued low
fertility in Iran.
The book is recommended to not only demographers, social scientists, and
gender specialists, but also to policy makers and those who are
interested in social and demographic changes in Iran and other Islamic
countries in the Middle East. It is also a useful reference for
demography students and researchers who are interested in applying
fertility theories in designing surveys and analysing data.
