FERTILITY DIFFERENTIALS AMONG THE EVER MARRIED WOMEN IN KAYAH STATE

Fertility is an important component of population dynamics and plays a large role in changes in size and structure of population of a given area. This study discusses fertility differentials in Kayah State, the poorest state with the second highest fertility rate among the states and regions in Myanmar. It aims to describe the fertility differentials and to determine the demographic, socio-economic and environmental factors influencing fertility among ever married women in Kayah State. This study used secondary data from the 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census. In this study, 2,305 ever married women aged 15-49 in Kayah State were included in the analysis. Descriptive analysis, bi-variate analysis (one-way ANOVA) and multiple linear regression analysis are used in this study. The number of children ever born of ever married women aged 15-49 years are employed as the dependent variable and women’s demographic, socio-economic and environmental factors that influencing fertility are identified as independent variables. The results showed that women’s place of residence, educational level, head of household, employment status and experience of child death were significantly associated with the CEB. Women’s place of residence in rural areas, employment status and experience of child death are found positively associated with the number of children ever born in this state. On the other hand, women’s educational level is found negatively associated with the number of children ever born in this state