2IS THERE A BASIS FOR IMPLEMENTING A FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM IN KOSOVO AND METOHIJA?

The transition of fertility in Kosovo and Metohija took place late and is spreading at a slow pace. Although there are indications that the transition began during the 1920s and 1930s, recent data show that, even if it began during the 1930s, it was suspended and returned to the pre-transition level until the late 1960s. The years to follow were characterized by a slow decline in fertility. Today, despite an indisputable fall in the total fertility rate in the region, the rate of change and the value of a little over 3.00, as is anticipated, are unfavorable. First of all, the rate is still high, so that its level enables a relatively long period of fast population growth. Moreover, it is at least twice as high as in other regions in Yugoslavia and the highest in Europe. We have little information about family planning in Kosovo and Metohija. The complex deterministic system of high reproduction norms and obstacles to the promotion of family planning has not been studied in a systematic and interdisciplinary way. Our knowledge about the reproduction and replacement of the population in Kosovo and Metohija is based almost exclusively on the census records (the last census for the whole region was conducted in 1981), vital statistics (reliable data are available up to 1989 inclusive), two representative surveys (conducted in 1970 and 1976) and a number of scientific papers which are based on the abov