AGE AT MARRIAGE AND FERTILITY IN SRI LANKA

(A Study Based on the 1971 Census of Population in Sri Lanka)

by

DHARMADASA PARANAGAMAGE

Supervised by Dr. S.K. Jain A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master Of Arts in Demography.

M.A. Programme in Demography, Development Studies Centre, Australian National University, CANBERRA, A.C.T., Australia.

June 1979

DECLARATION

Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work.

I

June 1979 Dharmadasa Paranagamage

i.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Acknowledgements iiiAbstract ivList of Tables vList of Illustrations vii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 11.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND OF THE COUNTRY 1

Administrative and other divisions 1Ethno-Religious Characteristics 5Population Growth and Distribution 7Demographic and Socio-Economic Characteristics 7

1.2 STUDIES SHOWING THE RELATIONSHIP OF AGE AT MARRAIGE 11WITH FERTILITY

1.3 STUDIES IN SRI LANKA 141.4 THE PRESENT STUDY 15

Objectives, Scope and Limitations 15Characteristics of the Two Zones 16

. Data Source 18Organization of the Study 18

CHAPTER 2 MARRIAGE IN SRI LANKA 20INTRODUCTION 20

2.1 MARRIAGE LAWS 20Minimum Age of Marriage 21

2.2 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY FORMATION 222.3 PARENTAL CONTROL OF MARRIAGE 232.4 MARITAL STATUS AND PROPORTIONS MARRIED 24

Proportions Married 26Age at Marriage 26

CHAPTER 3 AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE 3 33.1 INTRODUCTION 333.2 COMPOSITION OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES 33

Characteristics of the Population 33Development of Education 36Age Structure 39

3.3 AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE 39Overall Median 39Differentials by Type of Residence 43Differentials by Ethnicity 45Differentials by Education 47

3.4 THE EFFECT OF EDUCATION ON AGE AT MARRIAGE 49Differentials by Type of Residence and Education 49Differentials by Ethnicity and Education 51

3.5 PAST AND RECENT MARRIAGE PATTERNS 53

ii.

PageCHAPTER 4 MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN BY AGE AT 61

MARRIAGE4.1 INTRODUCTION 614.2 COMPOSITION OF FEMALES 624.3 FERTILITY DIFFERENTIALS BY AGE AT MARRIAGE 62

Fertility in the Two Zones 62Differentials by Type of Residence 67Differentials by Ethnicity 71Differentials by Education 73

4.4 EFFECT OF EDUCATION ON FERTILITY 75Fertility by Type of Residence and Education 76Fertility by Ethnicity and Education 78

4.5 RECENT FERTILITY AND COMPLETED FERTILITY 78Recent Fertility 80Completed Fertility 80Recent and Completed Fertility by Ethnicity 83Summary 85

CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 86

LIST OF REFERENCES 90

APPENDIX 97

iii.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was carried out while I was studying in the Australian National University under a Colombo Plan Scholarship. I express my sincere thanks to Mr. W.A.A.S. Peiris, the Director of the Census and Statistics Department in Sri Lanka and the Australian Government for awarding me the scholarship.

I owe my greatest intellectual debt to my supervisor Dr. S.K. Jain of the Department of Demography, A.N.U. Despite his heavy pressure of work he was available for any assistance I needed. I am very grateful for all his aid. If not for him and Dr. P.F. McDonald, I would not have completed this thesis.

I thank and express my gratitude to Dr. L.T. Ruzicka, Dr. D.W. Lucas and Dr. P.F. McDonald for their kind help and valuable suggestions to improve the thesis.

I express my especial thanks to Miss Pat Gilbert, Secretary of the Demography M.A. Programme, and Miss Tania Sherlaimoff, Research Assistant for the help they have given me. I am also grateful to Mr. John Clanche of the Study Skills Unit and to Mrs. Betty Mayer for reading and editing the draft.

I thank Mrs Pat Quiggin of the Demography Library for all assistance she has given and for introducing me to Miss Carmel Neagle, who typed this thesis. I am thankful to Carmel for the excellent work she did within very short notice.

My wife, Indrani, son Darshana and myself are especially grateful to Mr. John Brain of the Australian Statistical Bureau, who made our stay in Australia interesting. He took us to many places of interest in Australia and visited us whenever he could, and helped us in many other ways. We will never forget you John!

Finally, I wish to thank my wife Indrani and son Darshana for their understanding and for the moral support they have given me.

iv.

ABSTRACT

This thesis is an attempt to study the marriage patterns and the relationship between age at marriage and fertility of the currently married females aged 15-49 years in the two zones : the Wet Zone and the Dry Zone. The data source is the 1971 Census of population (10 per cent sample) in Sri Lanka.

The females in the Dry Zone married nearly three years earlier than the females in the Wet Zone. The urban-rural difference in age at marriage within the zones seems less significant than the zonal differences. When correlated by ethnicity, the Low Country Sinhalese in both the zones were the latest to marry. The estate Indian Tamils in the Wet Zone and the Moors in the Dry Zone were the earliest to marry. The age at marriage of the Moors in the Wet Zone was remarkably high, as compared to that of their counterparts in the Dry Zone. In all the cases education seemed to be the most important of the variables which had an impact on age at marriage, having a positive association with age at marriage.

Fertility of the Dry Zone females was somewhat higher than that of the Wet Zone females. In both the zones, fertility was inversely associated with age at marriage as well as with education. The rising age at marriage which was associated with education had the effect of minimizing the fertility differences between the zones. However, the fertility achievements of the rural females in both the zones was somewhat higher than that of the urban females. The estate females recorded a strikingly low level of fertility. The highest fertility by ethnicity, was recorded for the Kandyan Sinhalese in the Dry Zone, whereas the Indian Tamils had the lowest fertility achievements. The higher education of the females had the effect of generating low fertility norms among the females in both the zones.

Table Page

v .

LIST OF TABLES

1.1 Distribution of Population by (a) Ethnicity and 6(b) religion, 1971, Sri Lanka

1.2 Population at Each Census and Growth Rates, Sri Lanka 81.3 Population Distribution by Agro-Ecological Zones, 1963 9

and 1971, Sri Lanka1.4 Major Differences between the Zones WZ and DZ around 17

1971

2.1 Percentage Distribution of Males and Females, Aged 15 25Years and Above by Marital Status 1946-1975, Sri Lanka

2.2 Percentages of Males and Females Never Married by Age, 271946-1975, Sri Lanka

2.3 Percentages of Males and Females Currently Married by 28Age, 1946-1975, Sri Lanka.

2.4 Percentages of Females (15-49) Never Married by Birth 29Cohorts, Sri Lanka

2.5(A) Singulate Mean Age at Marriage (SMAM) for Census Years 301901-1971, Sri Lanka

2.5(B) Singulate Mean Age at Marriage (SMAM) for Census Years 301963 and 1970 by Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZ)

3.1 Distribution of the Currently Married Females (15-49) 34by Type of Residence, Ethnicity and Education, 1971 Census of Sri Lanka

3.2 Percentage Distribution of Currently Married Females 38(15-49) in WZ and DZ by Ethnicity and Education,1971 Census of Sri Lanka

3.3 Percentage Distribution of Currently Married Females 40(15-49) in WZ and DZ by Age and Type of Residence,1971 Census of Sri Lanka

3.4 Median Age at Marriage of Currently Married Females 41(15-49) in WZ and DZ by Type of Residence, Ethnicity and Education, 1971 Census of Sri Lanka

3.5 Median Age at Marriage of Currently Married Females 50(15-49) in WZ and DZ by Education and Type of Residence,1971 Census of Sri Lanka

3.6 Median Age at Marriage of Currently Married Females 52(15-49) in WZ and DZ by Education and Ethnicity, 1971 Census of Sri Lanka

3.7 Median Age at Marriage of Currently Married Females 55Aged 25-29 Years in WZ and DZ by Type of Residence and Education, 1971 Census of Sri Lanka

3.8 Median Age at Marriage of Currently Married Females 56Aged 35-44 Years in WZ and DZ by Type of Residence and Education, 1971 Census of Sri Lanka

Table

3.9

3.10

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

4.7

4.8

4.9

4.10

vi.

Median Age at Marriage of Currently Married Females Aged 25-29 Years in WZ and DZ by Education and Ethnicity, 1971 Census of Sri Lanka

Median Age at Marriage of Currently Married Females Aged 35-44 Years in WZ and DZ by Education and Ethnicity, 1971 Census of Sri Lanka

Percentage Distribution of Currently Married Females (15-49) by Age at Marriage and Duration of Marriage in the Two Zones, WZ and DZ, 1971 Census,Sri Lanka

Mean Number of Children Ever Born, Standardized for Duration of Marriage, (M/CEB(d)), to Currently Married Females (15-49) in the Two Zones, WZ and DZ by Age at Marriage, 1971 Census, Sri LankaMean Number of Children Ever Born, Standardized for Duration of Marriage, (M/CEB(d)), Per Currently Married Females (15-49) by Type of Residence, 1971 Census, Sri Lanka

Mean Number of Children Ever Born, Standardized for Duration of Marriage, (M/CEB(d)), Per Currently Married Females (15-49 by Ethnicity, 1971 Census,Sri LankaMean Number of Children Ever Born, Standardized for Duration of Marriage, (M/CEB(d)), Per Currently Married Females (15-49) by Education, 1971 Census,Sri Lanka

Mean Number of Children Ever Born, Standardized for Duration of Marriage, (M/CEB(d)), Per Currently Married Females who Married Before and After the 20th Birthday by Education and Type of Residence, for the Two Zones, 1971 Census, Sri Lanka

Mean Number of Children Ever Born, Standardized for Duration of Marriage, (M/CEB(d)), per Currently Married Females who Married Before and After the 20th Birthday by Education and Ethnicity for the two zones, 1971 Census, Sri Lanka

Mean Number of Children Ever Born, Per Currently Married Female with Marriage Duration 0-4 Years and Married Before and After 20th Birthday by Type of Residence and Education, 1971 Census, Sri Lanka

Mean Number of Children Ever Bom Per Currently Married Female with Marriage Duration 20 Years or more and Married Before and After 20th Birthday by Type of Residence and Education, 1971 Census, Sri Lanka

Mean Number of Children Ever Born Per Currently Married Female with Marriage Duration 0-4 and 20 Years or More and Married Before and After 20th Birthday for the Low Country Sinhalese Females by Education, 1971 Census,Sri Lanka

Page58

59

63

64

68

72

74

77

79

81

82

84

vii.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Map 1 Physical Features and Rainfall, Sri Lanka 2

Map 2 Density of Population, Sri Lanka 1971 3

Map 3 Agro-Ecological Zones, Sri Lanka. 4

Figure 3.1 Median Age at Marriage by Current Age of the 54Currently Married Females (15-49) in the Two Zones.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this chapter is to present the objectives and scope of the study and some relevant demographic and socio-economic background towardsunderstanding the relationship between age at marriage and fertility in Sri Lanka.

1.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND OF THE COUNTRY

Sri Lanka is a pear shaped island with an area of 25,332 square miles, situated at the southern tip of the Indian Sub-continent. The central region of the island rises up to 8000 feet above sea level in three peneplanes, completely surrounded by a coastal belt, as shown in Map 1.

The rainfall distribution divides the country into two distinctive zones: Wet Zone and Dry Zone. The Dry Zone receives an average rainfall of less than 75 inches, mainly from the North-Eastern Monsoons, during the period December-February. The Wet Zone receives an average annual rainfall of between 75 and 200 inches, from the South-West Monsoons during May-September and also from the North-East Monsoons. The inter monsoonal convectional and cyclonic ram brings precipitation throughout the island (Department of Census and Statistics (D.C. & S. 1969).

Administrative and Other Divisions

At the time of the 1971 Census, the island was divided into 22 adminis­trative districts as shown in Map 2. For the purpose of socio-economic studies, the 22 districts were grouped into four agro-ecological zones (AEZ) based on homogeneous characteristics (Map 3, D.C. & S. 1971, Central Bank of Ceylon 1964, p. 2) as follows:

AEZ 1. Colombo, Kalutara, Galle and Matara districts, known as the Low Country Wet Zone with high population density;Hambantota, Moneragala, Ampara, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura and Puttalam districts, known as the North-Central and Southern Dry Zone where most of the recent irrigation and land development schemes are located;

AEZ 2.

~ 2 ~

Map 1 Physical Features and Rainfall, Si-i Lanka

' < ‘Rainfall line division of zones 1000—3000 feet

3000-8000 feet above sea level

£ .0 ^ < I

f < f o v w Q .fV \2

ColovxViQ

~ 3~

Map Of -Population. Sri Lanka 1971

of Persons por Sejunno M-i 1 e

4e> TltLf

v.\v.\;:-:V5 x°. v;.*/.•/;.• :*.»0 o o y-\ N «

Over 3 0 0 0

10 0 0 - 1 3 0 0

7 0 ° - 1 0 0 0

:x::;:;v 4 00 -600 200 -350 100- 199 60 - 100

o° ° 0 0 *•.•.W-.* 4 v'-o , 0 o::: :f vMyvb J; ■> v 0

?•: V:; • ; i;;xyVv'v:':v- • r-'i-T 35 .••A- .v V.\ * ♦ColomboA 2 .Kalutara ■' 3 • Kandy

4 .Matale 3 * Nuwara Eliya ^ •Gall©7 . Matära8. Hambantota9 . Jaffna

10.Mannar 11•Vavniya12. bat ticalo13. Ampara 1^ •Trineomalee "I 5 .Kururegala 16.Puttalam 1 7 •Anuradhapura1^ •Po1onnaruva 1 9•Badulla

. 2 °.M one rag-ala i 2 * Katnapura 22 .Keg-alle

Source : D.C.& s . 1069 and 1 07^

Map 3 A.^ro-eco.l.o^icc.l Zones , Sri Lanka

_ 5 0'

Two Zones under studyWZDZRainfall

Zone divisi$ Districts

Colombo

n

- 5 -

AEZ 3. J a f f n a , M annar , V a v n iy a , T r in c o m a le e an d B a t t i c a l o a

d i s t r i c t s known a s t h e N o r th and N o r t h - E a s t e r n Dry

Z o n e ; and

AEZ 4 . K andy, M a t a l e , Nuwara E l i y a , B a d u l l a , R a t n a p u r a , K e g a l l e

and K u r u n e g a l a d i s t r i c t s known a s t h e Wet Zone Up C o u n t r y ,

w h e re m o s t o f t h e t e a and r u b b e r e s t a t e s a r e l o c a t e d .

E t h n o - R e l i g i o u s C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

The e t h n i c an d r e l i g i o u s c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n , a c c o r d i n g t o

t h e 1971 C e n s u s , i s g i v e n i n T a b l e 1 . 1 . The S i n h a l e s e , t h e m a jo r e t h n i c

g r o u p , a r e t h e d e s c e n d a n t s o f t h e A ry a n s who m i g r a t e d t o t h e i s l a n d and

o c c u p i e d t h e Dry Zone i n t h e s i x t h c e n t u r y B .C . I n t h e t h i r d c e n t u r y B .C .

t h e w h o le o f t h e c o u n t r y was c o n v e r t e d t o B u d d h ism , and e v e n t o d a y n e a r l y

93 p e r c e n t o f t h e S i n h a l e s e a r e B u d d h i s t s . The r e m a i n in g s e v e n p e r c e n t

w e re c o n v e r t e d t o C h r i s t i a n i t y b y t h e E u ro p e a n p o w e rs a f t e r t h e 1 6 th c e n t u r y

A . D.

From 1505 o n w a rd s t h e E u ro p e a n p o w e r s , t h e P o r t u g u e s e ( 1 5 0 5 - 1 6 5 8 ) , t h e

D u tch (1 6 5 8 -1 7 9 8 ) and t h e B r i t i s h ( 1 7 9 8 - 1 8 1 5 ) , c o u l d o c c u p y o n l y t h e

m a r i t i m e p r o v i n c e s u n t i l 1815 when t h e B r i t i s h s u b j u g a t e d t h e w ho le i s l a n d .

D u r in g t h e t im e o f t h e E u ro p e a n o c c u p a t i o n o f t h e m a r i t i m e p r o v i n c e s , t h e

r e s t o f t h e c o u n t r y , t h e Up C o u n t r y , was r u l e d by t h e S i n h a l e s e K in g s . The

S i n h a l e s e i n t h e Low C o u n t r y (m a in ly i n AEZ 1) who w e re u n d e r t h e E u ro p e a n

d o m i n a t io n f o r n e a r l y f o u r c e n t u r i e s show ed some c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s w i t h

t h e S i n h a l e s e i n t h e Up C o u n t r y . T h e r e f o r e t h e S i n h a l e s e i n t h e Low C o u n t ry

w e re e n u m e r a t e d a s t h e Low C o u n t ry S i n h a l e s e and t h e S i n h a l e s e i n t h e Up

C o u n t ry a s t h e K andyan S i n h a l e s e . B o th o f t h e s e S i n h a l e s e g r o u p s a r e

B u d d h i s t s .

From t h e i n c e p t i o n o f t h e S i n h a l e s e c i v i l i z a t i o n i n t h e s i x t h c e n t u r y

B . C. t h e r e w ere f r e q u e n t i n v a s i o n s from S o u th I n d i a , u n t i l t h e E u ro p e a n s

o c c u p i e d t h e m a r i t i m e p r o v i n c e s . The S o u th I n d i a n T a m i l s who came a s

i n v a d e r s and m i g r a n t s d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d s e t t l e d m a i n l y i n t h e n o r t h e r n

p a r t o f t h e i s l a n d . The T a m i l s who w e re b r o u g h t by t h e B r i t i s h p l a n t e r s

f rom S o u th I n d i a , a f t e r t h e 1 8 4 0 ' s a s e s t a t e l a b o u r e r s , r e s i d e m a i n l y i n t h e

e s t a t e s i n t h e c e n t r a l p a r t o f t h e c o u n t r y . They a r e n o t S r i L ankan c i t i z e n s

by d e c e n t , b u t some o f them w ere g i v e n c i t i z e n s h i p b y r e g i s t r a t i o n .

- 6-

TÄBLE 1.1

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY (a) ETHNICITY ÄND (b) RELIGION

1971, SRI LANKA

(a) Ethnicity Number % (b) Religion Number %

SinhaleseLow Country Kandyan

5,425,7803,705,461

42.829.2

Buddhists 8,536,868 67.3

TamilsSri Lankan Indian

1,423,9811,174,606

11.29.3

Hindus 2,238,666 17.6

Moors 855,724 6.7 Muslims 901.785 7.1

Burghers 45,376 0.4 Roman Catholic 899,032 7.1

Malays & others 58,969 0.4 Other Chris. 105,294 0.8

Others 8,252 0.1

Total 12,689,897 100.0 12,689,897 100.0

Source : D.C. & S. 1975a.

- 7-

The Tamils in the northern part of the island who are Sri Lankan citizens by descent, were enumerated as Sri Lankan Tamils. The Tamils in the estate sector, who were not Sri Lankan citizens by descent, were enumerated as Indian Tamils. Both of these Tamil ethnic groups are Hindu by religion. Few of them were also converted to Christianity by the European powers.

The Arabs, who came as traders in the 10th century A.D. and settled in some areas on the western coast, were enumerated as Moors and are Muslims by religion. The Burghers are the descendents of European stock mixed with the Asian stock, and they are mainly Christians. The majority of the Christians in the country are Roman Catholics.

Population Growth and Distribution

Table 1.2 gives the total population enumerated at each census since 1871 and the inter-censal growth rates. Prior to 1946 the rate of population growth was less than 1.7 per cent per year. The South Indian migration was the dominant factor of population growth, until it was banned in 1930 (Ranasingha 1950, p.60). After a dramatic mortality decline around 1946, the rate of population gorwth reached its maximum in 1946-53, and gradually declined as birth rate and net-migration declined.

Table 1.3 gives the proportion of population, density and rate of urbanization in the four AEZ/s. It is clear that nearly 75 per cent of the population is concentrated in the Wet Zone which comprises only 38 per cent of the island's land area.

Demographic and Socio-Economic CharacteristicsSri Lanka's demographic experience has some unique characteristics.

The dramatic mortality decline in the country, due to the improvements in health and sanitary facilities and control of malaria (Meegama 1967), was "an event unparalleled in the annals of world demography" (ESCAP 1975, pp.8-9). Fernando (1974, p.144) observed that Sri Lanka has shown a strong decline in fertility since the 1960's, and was the first Asian developing country with non-Mongoloid ethnic characteristics to experience an appreciable decline in birth rate.

When the country's birth and death rates were at a higher level andnatural increase was low, migration contributed a fair proportion to

Year

18711881189119011911192119311946195319631971

- 8-

TÄBLE 1.2

POPULATION AT EACH CENSUS AND GROWTH RATES

SRI LANKA

Population

Millions

Over 1871

Per cent

Annual Rate of Growth

Per cent

Components of Inter Censal IncreaseNatural Per cent

Migration Per cent

2.4 - - - -2.7 15.0 1.4 33.2 66.73.0 25.3 0.9 58.9 41.83.6 48.6 1.7 40.4 59.64.1 71.6 1.4 65.9 34.14.5 87.4 0.9 81.4 18.65.3 121.1 1.7 81.3 18.76.6 177.3 1.5 94.8 5.28.1 237.4 2.8 92.2 7.8

10.6 340.8 2.7 101.2 - 1.212.7 428.7 2.2 103.7 - 3.7

D.C. & S. 1974, pp.4-5

- 9-

TABLE 1.3

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION BY ÄGRO-BCQLOGICAL ZONES

1963 AND 1971, SRI LANKA

WetUnit Zone Dry Zone TotalAEZ 1 AEZ 4 AEZ 2 AEZ 3 Island

Population 1963 % 37.8 39.6 12.4 10.2 100(10,582,064)

Population 1971 % 37.2 38.7 13.7 10.4 100(12,689,897)

Rate of growth (1963-71)

% 2.0 1.9 3.4 2.5 2.2

Density per 1963 No. 1573 602 130 202 423square mile 1971 No. 1860 703 171 248 508

Urban 1963 % 33.6 6.9 10.0 23.7 19.11971 % 39.3 8.3 10.2 30.9 22.4

Source : D.C. & S. 1975a (computed using 1963 and 1971 censuses)

- 10-

population growth until bans on migration of foreign labourers into the country were imposed in 1930 (Ranasingha 1950, p.60). Migration has had a negative effect on population growth after 1951. Its negative effect increased further, after the implementation of the repatriation scheme (repatriation of Indian Tamils) under the 1964 Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement.During this period natural increase was the dominant factor of population growth.

Unlike the European countries (Borrie 1970, p.68, U.N. 1973, pp.146-155), Sri Lanka achieved her low levels of mortality and maintained them through a huge network of social welfare activities including free and subsidised health, sanitation and food distribution schemes. Although these schemes were a burden on the economy, the government had to provide them at that time, to maintain a satisfactory standard of living in the absence of over-all economic development. Such schemes were not a problem during the period prior to the 1950's when the country's foreign trade was flourishing (Indraratna 1956).

Snodgrass (1974) pointed out that the country's economic development has been slowing down since 1960. Bansil (1971) showed that Sri Lanka's industrial sector was the least developed in Asia. The socio­economic Survey of 1969/70 (D.C. & S. 1971), revealed that nearly 40 per cent of the households were below the poverty line, having an income of less than Rs. 200 a month. According to Central Bank reports, the average rate of growth of the Gross National Product (GNP) had declined from 5.8 per cent in 1966-70 to 2.8 per cent in 1971-75, which is far below the target of 6 per cent set in the Five Year Plan of 1971-76 (Ministry of Planning and Employment 1971). After 1959 the country's external assets were depleted as the terms of trade deteriorated. Economic development and the availability of food and other essential goods were severely affected as import restrictions on imported food and other essentials during the 1970's when inflation was at a very high level, free food rations and other subsidies had to be restricted in the midst of scarcities. During this period, the death rate in the country, particularly infant mortality and estate mortality, showed an upward trend (D.C. & S. 1975c, pp.13-25). The fertility decline in the country also corresponded to the period of economic strains.

- 11-

1.2 STUDIES SHOWING THE RELATIONSHIP OF AGE AT MARRIAGE WITH FERTILITY

Malthus was one of the first to point out that marriage pattern was the crucial element in population growth. He advocated moral restraint, virtuous behaviour of women, and the postponement of marriage until such time as when one can support one's own children (Malthus 1958, p.159).Malthus advocated the postponement of marriage, because he rejected voluntary birth control on ethical grounds. Neo-Maithusians aruged on the later experience of European populations that the rate of population growth may be checked by the control of fertility within marriage, that is, through increased and efficient use of better contraceptives.

Eversley (1965, p.39) specified two possible ways in which marriage may regulate the rate of population growth: age at marriage and life-longcelibacy. In the absence of contraceptive use, the number of children per couple is, to some extent, a function of the age at marriage, mainly of the female. "The younger they marry, the larger their families" (Eversley 1965, p.41). The age at marriage is one of the strongest and most persistent factors affecting fertility (Bumpass and Mburugu 1977). Coale and Tye (1961) pointed out that age at marriage differentials in fertility are a rather straightforward consequence of differences in length of exposure to the risk of conception in populations with little fertility control. Although the younger age at marriage lengthens the exposure to the risk of conception, marital disruptions due to divorce, separation, and widowhood may bring about limitations. Sweet (1977) observed that the process by which marital disruption is associated with lower fertility is quite complex and has not been fully studied.

According to Habakkuk (1965, p.275) the rapid growth of populations in European countries during the later part of the 18th century was mainly due to the differences in the birth rates which depended on age at marriage and frequency of marriage. In the later half of the 19th century, age at marriage became an important social variable among the emerging middle classes in England, which related to socio-economic status rather than to the number of children a couple would have (McDonald 1975, pp.1-3). By the 20th century, rising age at marriage, increasing proportions never marrying, and application of fertility control within the marriage, brought about a new demographic balance in European countries (Borrie 1970, p.81).

- 12-

Ha jnal (1965) distinguished two types of marriage patterns in Europe around 1900:

i). the General European Pattern, characterised by higher age at marriage and higher proportions never married; and

ii). the Eastern European Pattern, characterised by early marriage and universal marriage.

Hajnal (1965, p.131) also demonstrated that the non-European marriage pattern was related to the non-European birth rates, which were high. The rising age at marriage in Europe was associated with the onset of fertility decline in the later part of the 19th century in most part of Europe.

Ryder (1967, pp.105-107) prepared an approximate timetable for some of the developed countries showing the time period when each nation passed into a low fertility category. All these countries moved from high to low fertility during the course of their economic development. According to him, after the 1930's all the developed countries showed a pronounced and persistent decline in age at marriage indicating convergence towards early and extensive marriage, a redistribution of childbearing towards younger ages, and a coincidence of small families with an increase in proportions ever married and a decrease in marital fertility. Wunsch (1979) showed that the cohorts born at the end of the 19th century in Western Europe had gradually experienced both a steep decline in the proportions ultimately remaining single, and a drop in their average age at first marriage. This resulted in a significant rise in the first marriage rates and in the proportions ever married at a given age, particularly at younger ages.

Borrie (1970, pp.141-142) attributed the recent "marriage revolution" in Europe to high levels of employment and incomes at younger ages, increasing employment opportunities for women, and the increasing efficiency of contraceptives. He noted that post-war young married persons, though married early, had used family planning only to prevent higher order births. The recent developments in the field of marriage and fertility in the European countries indicate a tendency to marry early, achieve the desired family size early, and depend upon contraceptives during the remainder of the reproductive life.

Davis (1963) in his theory of multiphasic response showed that postponement of marriage but not celebacy, was one of the major responses through which the Japanese reduced their fertility during the post-war period. He drew attention to similar responses of rising age at marriage

- 13-

contributing to the decline in fertility in Ireland and Sweden. Glick (1967) using the 1960 United States census data for white females, demonstrated that "early marriage is associated with high fertility and remarriage is associated with early marriage, yet remarriage is associated with low lifetime fertility". However, where the historical marital and fertility experience of the European countries are concerned, the proportions married and fertility had no positive relationship as was shown by Coale (1967, p.209). In the developed countries, this was because fertility ceased to be a function of age at marriage, and became increasingly affected by contraceptive use.

Some developing countries, where early and universal marriage have been the tradition, are to some extent experiencing Hajnal's European marriage pattern. David-Blake (1967, p.136) noticed the overthrow of customary procedures regarding marriage in the developing countries. Maulding (1976, p.247) noticed a substantial fertility decline in the developing countries, a decline which is larger in the 1970's than in the 1960's. An appreciable rise in age at first marriage causing birth rate to decline substantially was observed by Das (1967) in India, Kim (1967) and Coale, Goldman and Cho (1979) in Korea, Freedman and Casterline (1979) in Taiwan, McDonald (1978) and Jones (1977) in Indonesia and Wright (1968, 1970) and Fernando (1972,1975) in Sri Lanka.

Although there is a direct link between age at marriage and fertility in most of the developing countries, this relationship may be disturbed by factors other than contraceptive usage. It has been found that as a result of the medical progress and relaxation of sexual taboos, there may be an increase in fertility levels at the initial stages of modernization (Henin 1969, Olusanya 1969, Romaniuk 1969 and 1974). Romaniuk (1974) found among the James Bay Indians that the interval between the successive births tended to become shorter among the younger as compared to the older genera­tion of mothers. He attributed this to: (1) changes in lactation habits,that is, a larger proportion of younger mothers either did not breast-feed at all or reduced the period of breast-feeding as compared with older mothers, (2) reduction in the level of pregnancy wastage, and (3) reduction in the prolonged temporary separation of spouses.

- 14-

1.3 STUDIES IN SRI LANKA

Empirical studies of fertility and marriage in Sri Lanka have been limited. Abhayaratna and Jayawardana (1967) conducted a detail study on the island to ascertain "the relationship between fertility on the one hand and values, aspirations, and attitudes on the other". Among other findings the study revealed that the age of entry into sexual unions has had the "most potent influence on fertility". It also indicated that the age at marriage was also rising. Wright (1968, 1970) studied the fertility change in the country in relation to the nuptiality changes. He observed that the crude birth rate (CBR) of the country had been declining because of changes in the age structure and the marital structure of women aged 15-49. The postponement of marriages had been due to increasing unemployment and an unfavourable ratio of women to men at the respective prime ages of marriage 20-24 for women and 25-29 for men, that is a"possibility of a serious marriage squeeze".

Fernando (1972, 1974, 1975, 1976) studied the fertility decline in the country, mainly using past census data. He attributed the whole of the decline in CBR between 1963 and 1969 to changes in the marital structure, that is, the rising age at marriage of females (Fernando 1972). He also studied the census data relating to nuptiality change between 1901 and 1971 and concluded that the age at marriage of females was rising mainly because of a "seriour marriage squeeze" caused by a "serious sex imbalance"(Fernando 1975). This study elaborated what Wright (1968) had suggested.

Nadarajah (1976), presenting a paper to the Seminar on Family Health in Colombo, showed that the reasons for the delay or the postponement of marriage were: (1) greater participation of women in education and morerecently, employment, (2) increasing unemployment, and (3) imbalance between sexes. Hirabayashi and Saram (1977) studied relative values and institutional factors in the formation of individual preference towards modernity with regard to contraceptive use in rural villages. They found that the majority of the ever married persons in villages were "receptive to modern contra­ceptives" and ever married females showed a greater interest in obtaining contraceptive information than their male counterparts. Persons with higher educational levels were "more likely to accept modern contraceptives, not because of their higher learning but because of the life style demanded of their occupations". (Hirabayashi and Saram 1977, p.60).

- 15-

The first report of the Sri Lanka Fertility Survey (SLFS) 1975, among its major findings revealed that the Total Fertility Rate was declining at approximately G per cent each year, and that this decline was primarily due to the rapidly rising age at marriage (D.C. & S. 1978, p.103). Gaminiratne (1978) studied the fertility differentials on the island using Family Health Survey 1975 and also found that fertility was much related to the age at marriage of females. The findings of SLFS 1975 and Gaminiratne (1978) will not be discussed here in detail, as they will be compared with the findings of the present study later.

1.4 THE PRESENT STUDY

Objectives, Scope and LimitationsIn Sri Lanka age at marriage and fertility cannot be expected to show

a uniform pattern throughout the island due to the heterogeneity of the population and society, mainly between the two zones (the Dry Zone and the Wet Zone). In Sri Lanka the type of residence, ethnicity and educational attainments of females seem to be the most important variables that affect female age at first marriage and fertility. However no study has yet been conducted to ascertain the age at first marriage and fertility differentials of currently married females in the two zones. Therefore the objective of the present study is to examine (1) the age at first marriage differentials, and (b) the fertility differentials in relation to age at marriage of currently married females in the two zones.

The present study is limited only to currently married females of reproductive age group (15-49 years), because almost all fertility occurs within marriage. The differentials will be studied only by type of residence, ethnicity and educational attainments of currently married females (15-49). The religion of females will not be considered because, there is a very close relationship between religion and ethnicity in Sri Lanka.

In this study the Wet Zone is represented by Galle and Matara districts in AEZ 1 and the Dry Zone by six districts in AEZ 2 (Map 3). Proper Wet Zone consists of AEZ 1 and AEZ 4. AEZ 4 is predominantly an estate area. Colombo and Kalutara districts in AEZ 1 are highly urbanized and the estate sector is very small. In Matara and Galle districts the size of

- 16-

urban and estate sectors are moderate. Considering the population size and Wet Zone characteristics, Matara and Galle districts were selected to represent the Wet Zone. The proper Dry Zone consists of AEZ 2 and AEZ 3, but AEZ 3 is mainly a Tamil area. Most of the Dry Zone rehabilitation schemes are located in AEZ 2. Therefore AEZ 2 is selected to represent the Dry Zone.

Characteristics of the Two Zones

For easy reference in this study, the selected area of the Wet Zone will be referred to as WZ and Dry Zone as DZ. The major differences between the WZ and DZ are listed in Table 1.4. Historically the DZ has been termed the "cradle of the Sinhalese Civilization" and was the centre of population concentration during the period of the sixth century B.C. and 10th century A.D. During this period the whole of Wet Zone (AEZ 1 and AEZ 4) was covered with thick forest, except for a few isolated settlements.

By the first century B.C. the whole of DZ was populated (Nicholas and Paranavitana 1961, Chapter 1). To feed the increasing population, more land was brought under cultivation by building a huge and intricate net­work of irrigation canals and "tanks" (reservoirs), mainly to irrigate paddy lands. Frequent invasions from South India and subsequent internal turmoils destroyed the Dry Zone irrigation system in the 10th century A.D.The population gravitated towards the Wet Zone. The ruined irrigation works became the breeding places of malaria carrying mosquitoes. The DZ was deserted and was unsuitable for human habitation until malaria was controlled in 1946.

In the Wet.Zone, the inroads of the plantation economy, since its inception in the 1830 s, into the peasant economy and the gradual population growth created a scarcity of land in the Wet Zone (Sarkar 1957 and Oliver 1957). In the 1930's landlessness among peasants, unemployment and over dependence on food imports were the major problems in the country.

When the country gained a certain degree of self-rule in 1931, in the form of the State Council, immediate steps were taken to rehabilitate the Dry Zone to solve the above problems. After 1931 many irrigation and ‘ land settlement projects have been launched in DZ and the landless peasants in the Wet Zone were settled in these projects (Ministry of Information 1956). However desired goals were not achieved until malaria, the major

- 17-

TABLE 1.4

MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO ZONES

WZ AND DZ AROUND 1971

Characteristics WZ DZ

Major zone titleNumber of districtsLand area: square miles

: % of island totalPopulation : number

: % of island totalCrude birth rate, per 1000 pop.Crude death rate, per 1000 pop.IMR, per 1000 live birthDensity, per square mile in

the districtsPressure on landSectors: urban, rural

Literacy: males between: females between

Facilities for higher educationTransport & communicationUrbanization, per centMajor crops

Type of paddy cultivation Development schemes

Unemployment Modernization Movement of population

Wet Zone Dry Zone2 61,133 10,2744 401,321,000 1,736,00010 13around 28 between 30 & 35around 7 around 7around 35 around 351138 and 1219 varied betweenpersons 340 and 70 personsvery high lowurban, rural & only urban andestate rural85 & 88 75 & 8471 & 77 50 & 69high lowgood poor16.7 10.2tea, rubber & paddy & chena cropscoconut as & no commercialcommercial crops & paddy

crops

rainfed irrigatednone number of major

river valley development schemes

very high lowhigh lowout-migrant in-migrant

- 18-

obstacle to the development, was controlled in 1946. When malaria was controlled, a population explosion occurred as fertility did not follow the drastic mortality decline. The rate of economic development in the country could not keep pace with the rapid rate of population growth.

The expansion of the public and private sectors in the DZ provided land and employment to a greater extent, to the landless and unemployed youth in WZ. Recent educational expansion in DZ attracted most of the higher educated youth, both males and females in WZ, as teachers. Thus the WZ became out-migrant districts and the DZ in-migrant districts.

Data Sources

The date for the present study are taken from the 10 per cent sample census of population, carried out in Sri Lanka on October 9, 1971. In the Census, a 10 per cent sample of the "census blocks" was selected at random, stratified by urban, rural and estate sectors. Additional information on migration, nuptiality and fertility were collected from each individual in the sampled blocks. The following information, regarding currently married females aged 15-49 years, was selected for the present study: i) type of residence; ii) ethnicity; iii) education;iv) age at first marriage; and v) number of children ever born.

Organization of the Study

The present study consists of five chapters. The first chapter outlines the objectives and scope of the study and gives some relevant demographic and socio-economic background towards understanding the marriage and fertility pattern in Sri Lanka.

The second chapter discusses the legal and social aspects of marriage and the gradual disappearance of the traditional aspects of marriage which promoted early marriage and extended family system. It also discusses the proportions married and marital status of the population on a national scale.

The third chapter examines the age at first marriage of currently married females (15-49) in the two zones. The differentials in age at marriage, within and between the two zones are analysed by the type of residence, ethnicity and educational attainments of the females.

- 19-

The fourth chapter studies the fertility of the currently married females (15-49) in the two zones, in relation to their age at marriage. The differentials in fertility by age at marriage, within and between the zones are studied by the type of residence, ethnicity and educational attainments of the females.

Finally, the fifth chapter gives the summary and the conclusion of the study.

- 20-

CHAPTER 2

MARRIAGE IN SRI LANKA

INTRODUCTION

This chapter gives an over-view of the changing nuptiality patterns in Sri Lanka. It discusses the country's marriage laws, types of marriage, parental control over wedlock, marital status and proportions married. The aim of this chapter is to show that effect of legal minimum age and traditional aspects of marriage on early marriage and extended families are gradually disappearing. Instead, late marriage and nuclear families are becoming popular.

2.1 MARRIAGE LAWSThe historical development of marriage laws in Sri Lanka has been

discussed in summary by Ranasingha (1950, pp. 192-193) and Sarkar (1957, pp.71-72) and in detail by Jayasuriya (1976). In Sri Lanka, laws relating to the registration of marriages were first introduced over a century ago, and have since been amended from time to time. Today, registration of marriages takes place under the provisions of three distinctive marriage laws. There is one marriage law for the general public, another for the Kandyans and a separate one for the Muslims. However, all marriage records are kept by the Registrar General of the island.

The laws relating to the registration of marriages were first introduced in 1847. They were used at first only by Christians and were gradually adopted by others (Sarkar 1957, p.72). The marriage law now in operation for the general population was enacted in 1907, and subse­quently amended to enable even Kandyan Sinhalese to marry under it, if they so desired (Ranasingha 1950, p.193). The Kandyan Marriage Law was first introduced in 1859 and amended in 1871 and in 1897 (Sarkar 1957, p.72). In 1886 a system was introduced to register Muslim marriages and in 1937, registration of Muslim marriages was made compulsory (Sarkar 1957, p.71). The Kandyans and the Muslims, if they wished, could get married under any of the three marriage laws. The major differences among these laws are in the minimum age limits of partners, and divorce procedures, and the authority of registration.

- 21-

Registration of marriages in the island is not compulsory. The laws which exists do not require registration of marriage to prove the validity of a marriage before the law. The civil courts recognize marriages even if they are not registered and a marriage relation could be established by adequate evidence of cohabitation and repute (Ranasingha 1950, p.192 and Jayasuriya 1976, pp.10-11).

Minimum Age of Marriage

Both the general marriage law and the Kandyan marriage law specify minimum ages of marriage for the partners, whereas the Muslim marriage law does not. Under the Marriage Registration Ordinance No.19 of 1907, no marriage is valid if the male partner is under 12 years of age. Under this law, the minimum age of marriage for European or Burgher females is 14 years. At the same time, for marriages contracted under this Ordinance, the law requires the consent of the parents or the guardian if any partner is under 21 years of age. This is not required in the case of marriages of widows, widowers and those divorced. In a case where the parents or the guardian unreasonably withhold consent, the court, according to the law has power to grant consent for the marriage.

For marriages contracted under the provisions of the Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act No.44 of 1952, the minimum age at marriage for a male is 16 and for a female 12 years. In a case where one party is below the minimum age, such a marriage may later become valid (a) when parties have cohabited as husband and wife for a period of one year after one party has attained lawful age or (b) when a child is born of the union. Under this law consent of the parents or the guardian for the registration of the marriage is required only if the male is below age 12. In the absence of parents' or guardian's consent the Registrar of Marriages can give consent for the marriage.

The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act No.13 of 1951 does not specify any minimum age of marriage, except that it prohibits the registration of Muslim marriages if the female partner is under 12 years of age, unless the consent of the Quazi (Muslim judge) has been obtained. Although non­registration does not affect the validity of a marriage which is otherwise valid according to the Muslim law governing the sect (Jayasuriya 1976).

- 22-

The Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce in Sri Lanka recommended in 1958 that the minimum age of marriage should be raised to 21 and 18 years for males and females respectively. As yet these recommendations have not been implemented.

2.2 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY FORMATION

Some important aspects of Sinhalese social organization have been well documented by Wijesekara (1949), Rayan (1953 and 1958), and Raghavan (1961). In Sri Lanka before the intervention of Western social, economic, administrative and legal systems, family formation and relationship were mainly governed by custom. Sarkar (1957, pp.69-71) pointed out that at the time of Western conquest, Sri Lankan women had never experienced the low status of women in India or in Islamic societies, and to a certain extent, they enjoyed considerable sexual freedom. The higher status of women was mainly due to the influence of Buddhism.

Today, monogamous marriage is the only socially and legally approved form of marriage. Although polygamy was allowed among the Muslims by Muslim marriage law, it is rarely practised.

Until very recently in the traditional Kandyan society a form of polyandry survived (Ranasingha 1950, p.193 and Sarkar 1957, p.70). The Kandyan polyandry system was called eka gei kema or "living in one house sharing one wife". This was practised mainly among the brothers in the same family to avoid fragmentation of land and to "keep the house together". With the inroads of the British plantation economy in the early part of the 19th century, polyandry system became a frequent cause of litigation and crime. Then, on the request of the Kandyan chiefs, the practice of polyandry was legally abolished in 1859.

Deega and Binna are another two types of marriages common among the Sinhalese. Deega, in which the girl joins the husband’s family, was the most common form of marriage among the Low Country Sinhalese. Binna, in which the boy joins his wife's family, was mostly common among the Kandyan Sinhalese, and was mostly practised in families where there were no sons (Ranasingha 1950, p.193 and Sarkar 1957, pp.69-71).

All these forms of marriages produced socio-economic benefits for the family as a whole, while also promoting the joint family system. These

- 23-

marriages were conditioned by kinship, caste, horoscope, family status, and to a certain extent dowry. Although the caste system found among the Sinhalese was not so rigid as that among the Tamils, it played a greater role where the marriage was concerned. Marriage never took place among the "blood relatives". One could marry, where the relatives were concerned, only one's mother's brother's sons or dauthters, or one's father's sister's sons or daughters. Child marriage has never existed among the Sinhalese.

The horoscope still plays a significant role. Once a marriage is proposed, the horoscope of the two partners are matched by the village "astrologer". The main purpose is to make sure that the marriage will never end prematurely, and will bring success, unity, and stability in family life and give birth to intelligent children. If the horoscopes did not match, then that marriage rarely took place.

Pre-marital sex and sex outside marriage were very rare, and the virginity of the bride was highly respected. Therefore even now, marriage is the only socially and legally approved institution within which, reproduction and care and nuture of children take place.

2.3 PARENTAL CONTROL OF MARRIAGE

Davis-Blake (1967, pp.132-136) observed that parental control of marriage, result in either early or late marriage. The early marriages in India and China, and late marriages in pre-industrial Western Europe and Japan were due to the parental control over wedlock. In Sri Lanka, in traditional families, parents think that it is their duty to marry off their children to suitable partners, as soon as age and economic situation of the family permitted. Although there are no empirical studies to prove that the parental control of marriage in Sri Lanka resulted in an early or late marriage, the lower age at marriage revealed by the past censuses and registration data (Fernando 1975, p.185) suggest that it promoted early marriage. In some countries parental control over wedlock, resulting in an early marriage was due to the influence of religion, which made it necessary to have grand-children for rituals associated with salvation (Davis-Blake 1967, p.135). In Sri Lanka it was mainly a social as well as a parental obligation, because Buddhism exerted no religious control over marriage or fertility (Fagley 1967, p.79).

- 24-

A1though there was parental control over wedlock, marriages rarely took place without the partners' consent. If there were older brothers in the family, they postponed their marriage until their sisters of marriageable ages were first given in marriage. Apart from parental control, the older brothers' attitudes have also promoted early marriage of females in Sri Lanka, in the recent past.

Modernization or the westernization process which came through the expansion of higher education, higher enrolment of females in higher education and employment outside of the parental house, and the rapid expansion of transport, communication and mass media has created a motivational background for an overthrow of customary procedure regarding marriage in the country. Now, even in villages, the selection of one's own partner is becoming popular (Wright 1968, p.754).

2.4 MARITAL STATUS AND PROPORTIONS MARRIEDFrom the time decennial census taking in Sri Lanka commenced in 1871,

information has been collected on the conjugal condition of the population, except in 1881 and 1891. It was not done in these two years because of the uncertainty as to what constituted a legal marriage. It was also believed that the information collected in 1871 was incorrect. When it was clarified by a court ruling that registration of a marriage was not necessary to prove the validity of a marriage (see section 2.1 and Ranasingha 1950, p.192) the question on marital status was again included in the census questionaire after 1901.

The percentages of males and females (15 years and over) in each marital status, according to the past four censuses and SLFS 1975 (D.C. & S. 1978) are given in Table 2.1. This Table gives an idea of the changes in the marital status in Sri Lanka during the past three decades. The percentage currently married is the sum of married- registered and married-customary (marriages not registered). Marital termination due to divorce and separation was very low and stable, and the per cent never married increased considerably. The proportions of widowed persons declined as the mortality dropped dramatically«after 1946.

MARITAL

STATUS 1

946

- 1975,

SRI

LANKA

- 25-

- 26-

Proportions Married

Table 2.2 and Table 2.3 give the per cent of males and females (15-49) never married and currently married by age for the past four censuses and SLFS 1975. The pattern of the proportions of SLFS 1975 differs from that of the censuses because of the differences in the sources of data. The two Tables give a clear picture of the changing nuptiality pattern in Sri Lanka. It is evident that the females' marital structure has changed remarkably, compared to males marital structure. Postpone­ment of marriage among females is highly noticeable after 1963. If proportions never married at 45-49 years in Table 2.2 are taken as an index of spinsterhood, this group remained almost stable at around 4 per cent. Therefore the nuptiality transition in Sri Lanka is mainly the result of a postponement of marriage, particularly of females.

As the above measures are cross-sectional, they might not reveal the cohort experience of nuptiality of the females in past. Therefore, in order to observe the changes by birth cohorts, the percentages of females never married for birth cohorts were obtained (Table 2.4). Even the cohort measures reveal the same pattern of postponement of female marriage and stable low levels of spinsterhood. Therefore, it may be said that in Sri Lanka a new pattern of rising age at marriage is evident, while the old pattern of universal marriage is retained.

Age At MarriageMarriage registration data in Sri Lanka are considered incomplete

(Wright 1970, p.17 and Fernando 1975, p.184). Apart from the incompleteness, marriage registration data after 1966 are affected by another factor. In 1966 the government promoted the registration of longstanding customary marriages. This could have distorted the pattern, because the age at marriage recorded is the date of registration and not the actual date of which cohabitation has begun (Fernando 1975, p.184).

Fernando has calculated Hajnal's (1953) index of Singulate Mean Age At Marriage (SMAM) for the past census years. For 1963 and 1970 he had calculated SMAM by agro-ecological zones (AEZ) also. These are reproduced here in Table 2.5(A) and Table 2.5(B). This index indicated that age at marriage of both males and females are rising and that

- 27-

TÄBLE 2.2

PERCENTAGES OF MALES AND FEMALES NEVER MARRIED BY AGE, 1946-1975, SRI LANKA

Age Sex 1946 1953 1963 1971 1975

15-19 Male 9.87 9.87 9.90 9.94 *Female 7.54 7.57 8.32 8.94 9.32

20-24 M 8.05 8.35 8.47 8.66 *F 2.94 3.25 4.14 5.32 6.06

25-29 M 4.34 4.54 5.05 5.32 *F 1.18 1.25 1.73 2.46 3.19

30-34 M 2.24 2.17 2.61 2.56 *F 0.66 0.75 0.79 1.09 1.37

35-39 M 1.25 1.18 1.31 1.34 *F 0.43 0.54 0.49 0.58 0.58

40-44 M 0.93 0.87 1.04 0.92 ★F 0.41 0.50 0.42 0.47 0.46

45-49 M 0.76 0.76 0.72 0.80 *F 0.34 0.44 0.39 0.41 0.21

Source : D.C. & S. 1950, 1957, 1967, 1975a, 1978.Note : * SLFS 1975 is a sample

proportions are given.survey of females and no male

- 28-

TABLE 2.3

PERCENTAGES OF MALES AND FEMALES CURRENTLY MARRIED BY AGE,1946-1975, SRI LANKA

Age Sex 1946 1953 1963 1971 1975

15-19 Male 0.12 0.09 0.09 0.06 *Female 2.39 2.37 1.47 1.04 0.65

20-24 M 1.89 1.58 1.50 1.33 *F 6.84 6.58 5.74 4.59 3.80

25-29 M 5.51 5.33 4.90 4.62 *F 8.44 8.44 8.09 7.34 6.50

30-34 M 7.53 7.64 7.28 7.34 *F 8.71 8.77 8.91 8.59 8.22

35-39 M 8.43 8.54 8.52 8.50 *F 8.54 8.68 8.99 8.90 8.56

40-44 M 8.59 8.72 8.70 8.87 *F 7.84 8.07 8.61 8.69 8.14

45-49 M 8.60 8.65 8.86 8.91 "k

F 7.15 7.38 8.17 8.35 8.17

Source : D.C. & S. 1950, 1957, 1967, 1975a, 1978.Note : * SLFS 1975 is a sample

percentages are given.survey of females and no male

- 29-

TABLE 2.4

PERCENTAGES OF FEMALES (15-49) NEVER MARRIED BY BIRTH COHORTS,SRI LANKA

Year of Birth

Age15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49

1897-1901 0.351902-1906 0.41 0.381907-1911 0.43 0.47 0.421912-1916 0.66 0.51 0.47 0.401917-1921 1.18 0.72 0.52 0.44 0.401922-1926 2.94 1.23 0.76 0.50 0.44 0.411927-1931 7.54 3.16 1.39 0.78 0.52 0.47 0.16*1932-1936 7.56 3.52 1.63 0.90 0.58 0.46*1937-1941 7.79 3.96 2.00 1.09 0.58*1942-1946 8.17 4.58 2.46 1.44*1947-1951 8.55 5.32 3.37*1952-1956 8.94 6. 24*1957-1961 9.41*

Source : Table 2.2 and 2.3.Note : The proportions were obtained by linear interpolation and

extrapolation between censuses.* Extrapolated using censuses and SLFS 1975.

- 30-

TABLE 2.5(A)

SINGULATE MEAN AGE AT MARRIAGE (SMAM) FOR CENSUS YEARS 1901-1971, SRI LANKA

CensusYears

SMAM (Years)Male Female Difference

1901 24.6 18.1 6.51946 27.0 20.7 6.31953 27.2 20.9 6.31963 27.9 22.1 5.81971 28.0 23.5 4.5

Source : Fernando (1975, p.185).

SINGULATE MEAN AGE AT ;

TABLE 2.5(B)

MARRIAGE (SMAM) FOR YEARS 1963 AND 1970BY AGRO-ECOLOGICAL ZONES (AEZ)

Year Sex Aqro-ecoloqical zone1 2 3 4

1963 Male 29.5 26.9 26.6 27.1Female 23.8 19.7 20.3 21.7

Difference 5.57 7.2 6.3 5.4

1970 Male 29.4 26.7 25.5 28.0Female 25.1 22.6 21.3 23.6

Difference 4.3 4.1 4.2 4.4

Source : Fernando (1974, p.352).

- 31-

females show a rapid increase. The indices of AEZ 1 and AEZ 4 (Wet Zone) are higher than those of AEZ 2 and AEZ 3 (Dry Zone), indicating that the postponement of marriage in the Wet Zone was higher than in the Dry Zone.The age gap between couples is also declining and in 1970 it was uniform in all the four zones.

However Hajnal's Index (1953) was first introduced as an indirect measure of age at marriage in the absence of registration or census data.It was also based on some stringent assumptions: "there be no differentialsby marital status for mortality and migration and, especially, that the nuptiality pattern not have changed recently. When these assumptions are met, the cross-sectional percentages single can be taken to represent the experience of a hypothetical cohort" (Smith 1978, p.2).

In the case of Sri Lanka, the registration (though incomplete to a certain extent) and census data on age at marriage are available, and the mortality, migration and nuptiality have undergone and are undergoing substantial changes. McDonald (1978 and 1975) has pointed out that this index is not at all robust to variations in the assumptions on which it was based, and it is incorrect to interpret the observed variations in the index at two points of time as the true changes in the nuptiality pattern.

Some of the distortions that affect the cross-sectional estimates of SMAM may be avoided by the SMAM calculated for generations, with some plausible assumptions*. Such generational estimates of SMAM from Table 2.4 are as follows:

Generation1922-261927-311932-36

SMAM (Years) 20.74 20.97 21.38

Generational SMAM cannot be estimated for other birth cohorts in Table 2.4 as they are incomplete.

*The following assumptions were made in using proportions given in Table 2.4:1) . No one married under age 15,2) . Proportion single in 15-19 (1922-26 birth cohort) was .754.3) . No one married after age 50, and4) . Proportion never married in age group 45-49 (1927-31) was 0.041.

- 32-

S unima ry

In this chapter it was shown that in Sri Lanka at present, even though registration of marriages takes place under three distinctive marriage laws, it is not complete. Although the legal age of marriage is low, it has not affected the rising age at marriage in the country, as the socio-economic conditions of the population are in a process of rapid change. Because of these.changes, most of the traditional customs promoting early marriage are being overthrown. The nuptiality changes in the country are towards a new pattern of rising age at marriage, while retaining the old pattern of universal marriage.

- 33-

CHAPTER 3

AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE

3.1 INTRODUCTION

The source of data for this chapter is the ten per cent sample census of pupulation in Sri Lanka taken on October 9, 1971. In this Census the question "age at first marriage in years" was asked of all the ever married females up to age 50 years in the ten per cent sample "census blocks". This chapter examines the age at first marriage of only currently married females aged 15-49 years in the selected Wet Zone (WZ) and the Dry Zone (DZ). In this chapter age at first marriage is taken as the dependant variable and the type of residence, ethnicity and educational attainments are taken as independent variables.

Because median age at marriage, the age at which 50 per cent of females married, is the best summary measure so far as cross-sectional data are concerned (McDonald 1978, pp.2-3), it will be used in this chapter to measure the age at first marriage. The median age at first marriage was calculated by cross-tabulating the currently married females by observed age in five-year age groups and age at marriage in single years. Both of these ages were recorded in completed number of years in the census.

3.2 COMPOSITION OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES

The 1971 ten per cent sample census enumerated 17,158 and 24,102 currently married females aged 15-49 years in WZ and DZ respectively. Out of them, 1,197 (in WZ) and 1,914 (in DZ) females had to be excluded from the study due to non-response and incompleteness of data.

Characteristics of the PopulationThe distribution of currently married females (15-49) in the two zones

by their type of residence, ethnicity and educational attainments is given in Table 3.1. It is clear that although the majority of females in both zones lived in the rural sector, the proportion of females residing in the rural sector in DZ was higher than in WZ. The proportion of females living in the urban sector in WZ was a little less than double that in DZ. The

DISTRIBUTION O

F THE

CURRENTLY

MARRIED

FEMALES

(15-49)

BY T

YPE

OF R

ESIDENCE,

ETHNIC

ITY

AND

EDUC

ATION

- 34-

Source : 1

971

Census o

f population,

10 p

er c

ent

sample S

ri L

anka.

- 35-

proportion of females in the estabe sector consisted of 6.3 per cent in WZ, whereas there was no estate sector in DZ. The reason for this is that the estate sector in Sri Lanka is confined to tea and rubber plantations, which are wet zone crops. In the Dry Zone the major crop is paddy, which is mainly a crop of the small land holders.

With regard to ethnicity (Table 3.1), females in both zones were predominantly Sinhalese. The size of minor ethnic groups in DZ was somewhat larger than that in WZ. In Sri Lanka ethnic groups, to a greater extent are territorially segregated. The traditional home of the Low Country Sinhalese is the south-western coastal belt (AEZ 1 which includes WZ, see Map 3). The Kandyan Sinhalese are from the Up Country, which was called Kandyan Territory (AEZ 4). The Sri Lanka Tamils are mainly confined to the northern part of the country, namely the Jaffna district. The Indian Tamils are primarily an estate population, found mainly in the tea and rubber estates in the Up Country (AEZ 4) and in Matara and Galle districts (see Map 3). Moors were originally confined to the south-western coastal towns. As they are mainly businessmen, now they are found in most of the urban areas in the country. However, they are also highly territorially segregated in villages as well as in towns, mainly due to cultural differences. Burghers are also found mainly in the urban areas, but their proportion in the present sample is too small to study.

Those ethnic groups found outside their traditional homes are mainly those who migrated out in search of employment opportunities, land for cultivation, or due to marriage. For instance, the Kandyan Sinhalese females in WZ are either government teachers who came on transfers or migrated as a result of their marriage to Low Country Sinhalese males. The majority of the Sri Lanka Tamils in WZ had come from Jaffna district in search of business opportunities. The majority of the Low Country Sinhalese and Kandyan Sinhalese in DZ were originally the landless peasants in the Low Country (AEZ 1) and in the Up Country (AEZ 4) respectively and were selected by the government to be given land and settled in the land settlement schemes in DZ (see Ministry of Information 1956, Farmer 1957 and Bansil 1971 for more information on DZ rehabilitation).

Regarding the educational attainments of females, more than 25 per cent of the females did not respond to the question on education. Those who had not given their educational attainments were grouped as "not stated" in Table 3.1. The marriage pattern of the "not stated" group of females did

- 36-

not respond to the question on education due to prestige reasons as they most probably had no schooling. Table 3.1 also shows that the educational attainments of the females in DZ were lower than those in WZ.

As education seemed to be the most important variable affecting the age at marriage as well as fertility, the educational development in the country needs to be explained briefly.

Development of Educational System

In Sri Lankan pre-colonial period, the centre of Sinhalese education was the Pirivena, a Buddhist educational institution associated with the village Buddhist temple. These institutions failed to function properly during the European occupation of the country.

The Dutch (1658-1798) were the first to establish government Sinhalese schools and Tamil schools in the maritime provinces. After 1798, during the British occupation of the maritime provinces, education was in the hands of Christian missionaries. In 1897 the Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims managed to establish schools for children of their religion. Only after 1920 did the government provide for the establishment of government schools in non-Christian villages. During this time there were two types of schools : fee-levying English schools and non—fee—levying vernacular (Sinhalese and Tamil) schools.

Prior to 1910 there was no higher technical or professional education, except in law and medicine. The University of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) was established only in 1942 and all education in the country, from kindergarten to university, was declared free as from October 1, 1945.

Until the end of the 1950's higher education was limited only to a priviledged few. The granting of university status to two leading Buddhist educational institutions, Pirivenas, in 1959 brought about a revolutionary development in higher education in the rural areas. Apart from this, the development of educational facilities in rural schools was accompanied by the taking over of all the assisted schools by the government in 1960. The aim of the government was to establish "a national system of education ... in conformity with the cultural, religious, and economic aspirations of the people" (D.C. & S. 1961, pp. 192-194). At the time of the 1971 Census, the government had to expand the university education by opening up of

- 37-

another campus in Colombo to accommodate youth from rural areas seeking higher education.

The government expenditure on education showed a five-fold increase between 1938 and 1949, from Rs.18,000 to Rs.94,000. In 1959, just before the taking over of assisted schools, the expenditure on education increased tremendously to Rs. 240 million. In 1971 the government expenditure on education was Rs. 483 million. Nearly five per cent of the GNP (Gross National Product) was spent on education (D.C. & S. 1960, p. 184, and 1975b, p.35, Jones and Selvaratnam 1972, pp.93-99). The number of students in universities had increased from 3,000 in 1959 to over 11,000 in 1971.

The development of educational facilities for higher and technical education was not uniform throughout the island. In Jaffna and in the south-western part of the island the facilities were more numerous than in DZ. Apart from this, the involvement of females in higher education varied by ethnicity, due to cultural and economic reasons.

Table 3.2 gives the percentage distribution of currently married females (15-49) by ethnicity and education, in the two zones. The exposure of the Kandyan Sinhalese females to higher education was generally low due to poor educational facilities provided in the Up Country, compared to those in the Low Country. According to the 1971 Census, the female literacy in the Up Country districts varied between 48 and 70 per cent, whereas in the Low Country, mainly in the south-western (AEZ 1) districts, it varied from 70 to 84 per cent. The low educational level among the Kandyan Sinhalese females was reflected in the distribution of them by education (Table 3.2) in DZ. The level of education among the Kandyan Sinhalese females in WZ was exceptionally high. It may be because of their selectivity, as they were migrants from the Up Country.

The other notable feature is the higher level of education among the Low Country Sinhalese in both the zones, and very high level of education among WZ Moor females compared to that of DZ Moor females. The main reason for this may be the better educational facilities in WZ and separate Muslim schools provided for Moor females' higher education in WZ. As the Indian Tamils were confined to the estate sector their education was very low.

PERCENTAGE D

ISTRIBUTION

OF C

URRENTLY M

ARRIED F

EMALES (

15-49) IN W

Z AN

D DZ B

Y ETHN

ICITY

AND

EDUCATION

- 3 8 -

ggPI

sCO

IPO

coDcoa

I— Ir-COI— I

I— Ird-PoE-f

toP■Ht— IO O

■ JS Ü in

4POU)pfdCDrH

Po•H-PfduPTdw

>1-p•Hu

•PpPd■pw

0)poco

p CO in or P1 -cr CO r~ 00 in O CO0) ro m Ci CD CO CM CM CM o o i—1 in•9 in i—i r- m CM p" CO ro og •>3 m o CO rH COp i—i rp

+jp o o o o o O O o o O o oa) • • • • • • • . . , ,o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o op 1—1 1—1 rH 1—1 1—1 1—1 c—1 I—1 1—1 1—1 1—1 rH0)Oh

c3 P co o CM CO [■" CM r - rp ro ro inCD • • • • • . ■ . •

O > i—i 1—1 f " o CM CO CO in CO o i—t ro1—1 0 i—1 CM rp

CO1

CO r~ CO CO co CM o CO CM

ID cm i—l CO r—1 ro o ro ro i n o rCM CO CM CM CM i—i i—1 m

i—1 CO ■O' o CO ro m CO r - o oLD • • • • • • • . . .1 o CTi r~ ro O o CO CO t" r-~ ro CMr—( 'sf i—1 CM i—l in CM ro CO ro rH ro CM

top

•H CM CO 00 r—1 CM CO ■—l O co ro0 rp • • • • . . • • • .

s o CD r-' CO m ro rp CO i—i CM CO CO o0 CM CM in 00 CM CM r- in CMPdoin

>1 rOP PP -Pp Pp P P P p p0 fd fd 0 fd Jou Cn Pd u dp Pd

t p Td p3: P fd P £ p fd P0 ro PI fd in 0 cd PI ro inPI 4 •H p PI a •p p

•H Td a) •P t a)•• P P in rd • • p p in pd<d 10 H p to CD CO H P COw 0 P in 0 pa) •• 0 P a) •• 0 Pi—i in a CO rH in 2 CQid i—i fd i—in •p p : •pp e p e•H fd -p idco Pc CO Ff

CO N[2 a So

urce : 1

971

Census o

f Population,

10 p

er c

ent

sample S

ri L

anka.

- 39-

Age StructureTable 3.3 gives the percentage distribution of currently married

females (15-49) by current age and type of residence. It is evident that there is not much urban-rural differences in the age structure within each zone, although there is a considerable difference between the zones. The age structure of females in DZ is much younger than that in WZ, as 45 per cent of DZ females were below age 30 years, compared to 30 per cent in WZ.The estate female's age structure falls in between that of the two zones.

3.3 AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE

The differentials in the median age at first marriage of currently married females (15-49) in the two zones will be discussed by type of residence, ethnicity and education. The differentials in the marriage patterns by type of residence and ethnicity will also be examined controlling for education. Finally the marriage patterns of the birth cohorts aged 25-29 and 35-44 will be discussed by controlling for education.

Overall Median

Table 3.4 gives the median age at first marriage by type of residence, ethnicity and education for the two zones. The median age for all currently married females (15-49) shows that females in DZ married 2.8 years earlier than those in WZ.

In the first chapter it was shown that the socio-economic structure of WZ was different from that in DZ (see Table 1.4). The economic constraints generated by higher levels of urbanization, pressure on land, education, and rates of unemployment in WZ were higher than in DZ. Both of these zones were not industrialized, therefore the agricultural expansion and the type of acitivity of currently married females might reveal some of the factors that led to earlier marriage of females in DZ than in WZ.

Between 1946 and 1962 (the lattest available Agricultural Censuses) the percentage increase in the agricultural land (cultivated land) in the two zones was as follows:

- 40-

TABLE 3.3

PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES(15-49) IN WZ AND DZ BY AGE AND TYPE OF RESIDENCE

1971 CENSUS OF SRI LANKA

Zone CurrentAge

Type of residenceUrban Rural Estate

WZ 15-19 2.1 1.8 3.220-24 11.3 11.1 19.525-29 16.5 17.9 19.730-34 19.0 17.4 15.035-39 20.3 19.4 19.040-44 15.9 17.6 12.345-49 14.9 14.8 11.3

Per cent 100.0 100.0 100.0Total Number 2,416 12,544 1,001

DZ 15-19 6.2 6.320-24 19.7 19.4 -25-29 18.8 19.3 -30-34 16.7 15.1 -35-39 17.5 17.7 -40-44 12.6 12.1 -45-49 8.5 10.1 -

Per cent 100.0 100.0 _

Total Number 1,967 20,221

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka. Note : No estate sector.

- 41-

TABLE 3.4

MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES (15-49)IN WZ AND DZ BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE, ETHNICITY AND EDUCATION

1971 CENSUS OF SRI LANKA

CharacteristicsWZ

In YearsDZ

All 21.3 18.5

Type of ResidenceUrban 21.8 18.9Rural 21.4 18.5Estate 18.9 -

EthnicityLow Country Sinhalese 21.6 19.5Kandyan Sinhalese 20.1 18.2Sri Lanka Tamils 18.9 17.9Indian Tamils 18.6 18.4Moors 19.8 16.5

EducationNot stated 20.3 18.1No schooling 20.5 17.91-5 years schooling 20.9 18.36-9 years schooling 21.9 19.210-12 years schooling 24.4 21.8Degree or higher 27.7 26.0

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka. Note : No estate sector.

- 42-

WZ Districts Decrease inAgriculturalland

%

DZ districts Increase inAgriculturalland

%

Matara - 1.74 Hambantota 19.15Galle - 1.94 Ampara 63.86

Moneragala 118.87Anuradhapura 51.28Polonnaruwa 155.66Puttalama 14.58

- indicates decrease. Source: D.C. & S. 1965, p.30.

The rapid expansion in the agricultural land in DZ was mainly due to the "Colonization Schemes" (Chapter 1) launched by the government after 1931. In WZ the extent of agricultural land declined, probably due to the expansion of residential areas as population increased.

The economy of DZ mainly pivots around paddy cultivation, while that of WZ mainly around tea, rubber and coconut cultivations. According to the 1962 Agricultural Census (D.C. & S. 1965, pp. 53-56), the extent of agricultural land per operator exceeded three acres in DZ, while in WZ it was less than two acres.

The percentage distribution of the currently married females (15-49) by type of activity in the two zones was as follows:

WZ%

DZ%

Employed 24.5 22.9Unemployed 6.0 2.9Home duties 68.7 73.7Others 0.8 0.5Total 100.0 100.0

Source: 1971 10 per cent sample census, Sri Lanka.

- 43-

The proportion of females engaged in home duties in both zones was very high. Although the proportion unemployed in WZ was double that in DZ. In Sri Lanka unemployment among youth was associated with higher education (ILO. 1971, pp.1-3). Therefore, the high unemployment in WZ may be due to the higher educational attainments of WZ females, as compared to DZ females.

Out of all employed females (3909 in WZ and 5086 in DZ) 13 per cent in WZ and 60 per cent in DZ were unpaid family workers. Of the employed females in WZ 26 per cent were in the estate sector (mainly Indian Tamils) and another 19 per cent were in teaching and clerical occupations. Only 55 per cent (excluding estate workers but including unpaid family workers) of employed females seemed to be in agricultural occupations.

In DZ only 11 per cent of employed females were in teaching and clerical occupations. The remaining 89 per cent (including unpaid family workers) of employed females were in agricultural occupations. Those females engaged in home duties in DZ might have had more agrarian characteristics than those in WZ. Therefore the higher degree of agrarian characteristics of DZ females might have led to their early marriage, as compared to those in WZ. The zonal differences in age at marriage is further analysed by type of residence, ethnicity and education.

Differentials by Type of Residence

As Table 3.4 shows, it appears that the urban-rural differences in the median age at marriage within the two zones is almost negligible, being 0.4 years in both zones. The urban-urban and rural-rural differences between the two zones, on the other hand, are quite remarkable and remained constant at 2.9 years. It is evident that the higher difference in age at marriage that existed between the two zones was present even after the median age at marriage was examined according to type of residence.

The estate females in WZ tended to marry more than two years earlier than the females in the other two sectors. Results of the SLFS 1975 (D.C. & S. 1978, p.62) also showed that estate females married much earlier than the others. There is no estate sector in DZ, but it appears that there was no significant difference in age at marriage between the estate females in WZ and females in the other two sectors in DZ.

- 44-

The majority of the estate females were Indian Tamils by ethnicity and Hindu by religion, (see Appendix Table A.l). The level of education among the Indian Tamils in WZ was also very low (Table 3.2) and will be discussed in detail later. Apart from their low educational attainments, the estate females were mainly confined to the estates and highly territorially segregated. They owned no property and sometimes migrated from estate to estate in search of employment. The Hindu cultural influence (Fagley 1967, p.78), territorial segregation, lack of other interests or aspirations for social and economic mobility, and the availability of employment in the estate sector to a certain extent (there is some unemployment in the estate sector also, ILO. 1971) might have promoted early marriage among the estate females.

The existence of higher urban-urban and rural-rural differences in age at marriage between the zones, rather than urban-rural differences within the zones, may be expalined to a certain extent by the degree of urbanization in each zone. The level of urbanization was determined, not by the urban characteristics of females, but by their types of residence. Those living in M.C. (Municipal Councils), U.C. (Urban Councils) and T.C. (Town Councils) areas (see Chapter 1) were taken as urban females. Therefore, a rural female who migrated to the urban sector after marriage to an urban male was also enumerated as an urban female in this study, even though she reflected the rural marriage pattern. Apart from this, the size of population in urban areas and other urban characteristics in towns also differed between the zones. The distribution of the urban areas in the two zones according to the 1971 Census (full enumeration) was as follows:

Type of Urban body Number of Total Number of Totalurban Popula- urban Popula-bodies tion bodies tion

Municipal Council (M.C.) 1 71,000 - -Urban Council (U.C.) 3 66,000 5 79,000Town Council (T.C.) 9 82,000 15 92,000

Source: D.C. & S. 1975a, pp.6-8.

- 45-

There was no M.C.* areas in DZ. The average population per urban body (16,000) in WZ was double that per urban body (8,500) in DZ. With regard to the total land area in the two zones (WZ = 1133 square miles and DZ =10,274 square miles) there was one urban body per 87 square miles in WZ, whereas there was one urban body per 513 square miles in DZ. The density of population (both urban and rural) was 1170 persons per square mile in WZ as compared with 172 persons per square mile in DZ. Apart from this, the urban facilities provided in DZ urban areas were much below those found in WZ urban areas. All these factors suggest that the level of urbanization in DZ is below that in WZ. It may also be assumed that in WZ the urban influence on the rural sector would have been high (due to proximity of urban areas) whereas in DZ the effect of the rural sector on the urban sector would have been high. Thus, these factors would have had a great influence on the higher difference in age at marriage between the zones.

Differentials by EthnicityTable 3.4 indicates that in WZ the Low Country Sinhalese were the

latest to marry and Indian Tamils were the earliest to marry, showing a difference of three years in the median age at marriage. The Kandyan Sinhalese married 1.5 years earlier than the Low Country Sinhalese, whereas Sri Lankan Tamils married only 0.3 years (4 months) later than the Indian Tamils. This suggests that, where the sub-ethic characteristics are concerned, the difference in age at marriage between the two Sinhalese sub-ethnic groups was much higher than that between the two Tamil sub-ethnic groups which may also be treated as negligible. Moors in WZ married around oneyear later than the Tamils and their median age at marriage was very close to that of the Kandyan Sinhalese (a difference of 0.3 years).

The marriage pattern by ethnicity shown in WZ deviated in DZ, with regard to age at marriage of the Moors. The Moors in DZ were the earliest to marry, showing a difference of 1.9 years over the median age at marriage of DZ Indian Tamils. However, within the zones, the difference between the lowest and highest ages at marriage in DZ (Moors and Low Country Sinhalese) was also constant at three years as in WZ (between Indian Tamils and Low Country Sinhalese). Early marriage of the Indian Tamils may be attributed

* M.C. Has the highest status, U.C. the second and T.C. the lowest, among the urban bodies in the country.

- 46-

to the lower level of education among them. The late marriage of WZ Moors may be due to their greater involvement in higher education (see Table 3.2), than WZ Moors.

Between the zones, the difference in age at marriage by ethnicity was as follows:

Ethnicity Difference in the median age at marriage between WZ and DZ (years)

Low Country Sinhalese 2.1Kandyan Sinhalese 1.9Sri Lanka Tamils 1.0Indian Tamils 0.2Moors 3.3

Source: Table 3.4).

Although all the ethnic groups in DZ married earlier than their counterparts in WZ, the Indian Tamils showed the lowest difference, while the Moors showed the greatest difference between the zones. This may also be attributed to the differences in their educational attainments between the zones. The effect of education on age at marriage by ethnicity will be studied later.

The SLFS (D.C. & S. 1978, p.62) and Gaminiratne (1978, pp.51 & 53) showed that Moors were the earliest to marry in Sri Lanka. The present study revealed a strikingly higher age at first marriage among the WZ Moors. The differences shown by the above two studies and the present study may be due to: a) the differences in the sample sizes, and b) the nationalapproach of the above two studies as compared to the zonal approach of the this study.

By religion the Moors in Sri Lanka are all Muslims. The pro-natalist attitudes, the low social status of females and sexual pleasure promoted by Muslim religion (Kirk 1967 and 1968, Fagley 1967) might have had a great influence on very early marriage of the Moors in DZ, as their educational attainments were low. The influence of Muslim religion on early marriage might have been greatly reduced among the WZ Moors, owing to their involve­ment in higher education (Table 3.2).

- 47-

Other demographic studies carried out in Muslim countries (Kirk 1967 and 1968, Ahamed 1969, Khalifa 1976, Jones 1977, McDonald 1978) revealed that in most cases Muslim females married before their 20th birthday.These studies also showed that Muslim female marriage patterns changed by type of residence and educational attainments. Ahamed (1969) observed that in Pakistan, the female median age at marriage was 15 years. It was 14 years in East Pakistan and 17 years in West Pakistan. There was also an urban-rural differences of around two years. In Indonesia, McDonald (1978) observed a strong upward trend in marriage, and also the median age at marriage had exceeded 20 years in most of the urban areas. According to Khalifa (1976), in rural Egypt education has had a strong influence on female age at marriage. In Sri Lanka also, the differences in Moor Muslims' ages at marriage may be attributed to their different educational attainments.

Differentials by Education

Table 3.4 indicates a very high positive association between age at first marriage and educational attainment of females. In both of the zones, between those who had "not stated" their educational attainment and those who had "no schooling" the difference in age at marriage (0.2 years in both zones) was almost negligible. This suggests that both of these groups of females, as mentioned before, might have had no schooling.

In WZ, as level of education increased, age at marriage also rose steadily. The difference in age at marriage between the highest and lowest educational attainments was more than seven years. A similar pattern was evident in DZ, but the difference between the lowest and highest educational attainments was eight years.

Between the two zones, DZ females married nearly two years earlier than the females in corresponding educational levels in WZ. It is clear that the difference shown by type of residence between the zones existed by education also. The age at marriage of females by type of residence and ethnicity will be further examined according to their educational attainments.

In Sri Lanka none of the students in government schools marry while attending schools. Almost all of the students who earn the appropriate qualifications* and enter universities directly from secondary schools were

* G.C.E. A" Level: General Certificate of Education, Advanced Level

- 48-

not married (personal view). At the same time, very few seemed to continue higher education after marriage. Therefore, to a certain extent there is an incompatibility between continuing education and marriage in Sri Lanka. This is one of the major reasons for the positive association of age at marriage with education.

The other reason for late marriage in WZ may be the high unemployment among the educated youth of marriageable ages. Seers (ILO. 1971, pp.1-3) pointed out that in Sri Lanka more than 70 per cent of youth aged 20-24 years with G.C.E. "0" Level* qualifications were unemployed.

As marriage is highly sensitive to economic changes (Eversley 1965, p.39), the economic constraints on families brought about by lagging economic development and unemployment among educated youth (see Chapter 1, Snodgrass 1974, De Silva 1976, ILO. 1971 for more details) might also have contributed towards postponing female marriage. These factors might have had a greater influence on age at marriage in WZ than in DZ in order to bring about the considerable zonal difference in age at marriage, as shown above.

According to the Socio-Economic Survey 1969/70 (D.C. & S. 1971) 40 per cent of the households were below the poverty line, and nearly 80 per cent of all unemployed persons were in the age group 20-24. In 1969, the per capita GNP was $95, the lowest in the region (U.N. 1975, p.81). Because of economic constraints, recent developments in the "marriage market" show that males prefer to marry educated and employed females. Even educated but unemployed females sometimes found it hard to get a suitable partner.

The median age at marriage calculated by type of activity is as follows:

Type of Activity WZ DZ (in years)Employed 20.7 18.5Unemployed 22.1 19.7Home duties 21.4 18.5

Source: 1971 ten percent sample Census.

* G.C.E. "0" Level: General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level

- 49-

This clearly shows that those females who were unemployed had to postpone their marriages, while employed females had a greater chance of an early marriage. However, the type of economic activity recorded in the Census refers to the current employment status of females. It is not clear whether these females had the same employment status at the time of their marriage. Because of this, analysis of age at marriage by type of activity will not proceed further.

3.4 THE EFFECT OF EDUCATION ON AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE

Education seems to be the most important variable which affected the marriage pattern in Sri Lanka directly as well as indirectly. Directly, attending schools and continuing higher education demanded the postponement of marriage. Indirectly, education affected age at marriage through economic factors. It was shown earlier that unemployment among youth of marriageable ages was associated with higher education. Unemployment among males (as they postpone marriage until they find employment), and preference for working female partners, both tended to postpone female marriage in Sri Lanka.

The effect of economic factors on age at marriage cannot be studied due to lack of information in the Census data concerning the employment status of females or males at the time of their marriage. However, the effect of education by type of residence and ethnicity may be studied by controlling the above two variables for educational attainments of females.

Differentials by Type of Residence and Education

Table 3.5 gives the median age at first marriage by type of residence and education. It clearly shows the positive association of age at marriage with education in all of the sectors* in both zones.

Within the zones, urban-rural differences among WZ females in each educational category was greatly reduced, and rural females showed a slight trend towards later marriage than urban females. Those who had more than nine years of schooling postponed their marriage longer than those who had lower educational levels in both urban and rural sectors. The same pattern was also evident in DZ and the urban-rural difference was negligible.

* Sectors in this study refers to urban, rural and estate sectors.

- 5 0 -

TABLE 3.5

MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES (15-49) IN WZ AND DZ BY EDUCATION AND TYPE OF RESIDENCE

1971 CENSUS OF SRI LANKA

Education Type of residenceZone Years of

schooling Urban Rural Estate

WZ No schooling 19.9 20.3 18.31-5 20.6 20.8 18.86-9 21.2 21.6 20.3

10 & over 24.4 24.5 24.9

DZ No schooling 17.9 17.8 -

1-5 18.1 18.1 -6-9 18.7 18.9 -

10 & over 22.0 21.8

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka. Note : 1-' No estate sector.

- 51-

Between the zones the difference in age at marriage still remained around two years. Females in DZ in each educational category married approximately two years earlier than females in WZ.

The marriage pattern among the estate females also reflected ethnic differences. Those who had less than six years of schooling were mainly Indian Tamil labourers, whereas those who had more than six years of education may be the office workers or wives of estate managers and administrators with different ethnic characteristics. Therefore, the age at marriage of females with less than six years of schooling is at the same level as that of Indian Tamils (Table 3.4).

Females with more than nine years of schooling were those who had GCE "0" Level or "A" Level qualifications or had higher educational attain­ments. Their marriage was postponed for two reasons: 1) those who continued higher education were forced to stay single until they finish their education, and 2) after obtaining GCE "O" Level or "A" Level, they had to stay single until they find employment or a suitable partner. Those who had higher education might have preferred to enter the "job market" rather than the "marriage market". Those who entered the job market and migrated to the urban sector would also have had a better chance of entering the marriage market than those who remained in the rural sector. Females who did remain in the rural sector had reduced their opportunities further, to marry males with similar or higher educational qualifications, as educated rural males also tended to migrate to the urban sector in search of employment opportunities.

Differentials by Ethnicity and Education

Table 3.6 gives the median age at first marriage of currently married females by ethnicity and education. In this Table the median age at marriage for some educational groups were not given, as "N", the number of females in a cell was less than 20.

In this Table, the following ethnic patterns discussed earlier did not reveal any substantial changes when ethnicity was controlled for education:

a. the ethnic marriage pattern within zones (Table 3.4),b. higher postponement of marriage by those who had more than

seven years of schooling (Table 3.5), andc. the ethnic pattern of differences between the zones (Table 3.4).

- 52-

TABLB 3.6

MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES (15-49) IN WZ AND DZ BY EDUCATION AND ETHNICITY

1971 CENSUS OF SRI LANKA

Education EthnicityZone Years of

schoolingSinhalese Tamils Moors

LowCountry Kandyan Sri

Lankan Indian

WZ No schooling 20.4 19.3 18.3 18.1 18.31-5 20.8 19.8 18.5 18.5 19.46-9 21.6 19.5 * "k 20.3

10 & over 24.6 23.5 * * *

DZ No schooling 18.7 17.5 17.0 18.3 16.21-5 18.7 17.8 17.1 17.6 16.46-9 19.4 18.4 18.4 * 16.9

10 & over 22.1 21.4 21.5 ★ 19.7

Source :: 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka.Note: * N less than 20.

- 53-

The most important marriage pattern that should be noted in this Table is the clear positive association of age at marriage of all ethnic groups with increasing educational attainments.

In Table 3.5 and Table 3.6 education has had a great influence in postponing female marriage, by type of residence as well as by ethnicity within the zones. However, the pattern of wide difference between the zones, rather than within the zones, was retained at each educational level.

Whether there were any changes in these marriage patterns before and after 1960, the year by which most of the economic and educational changes occurred, may be determined by examining marriage cohorts.

3.5 PAST AND RECENT MARRIAGE PATTERNS

The median age at first marriage of females calculated by five-year age groups by type of residence, ethnicity and education are given in Appendix Tables A.2 and A.4. These five year age groups can also be treated as birth cohorts.

In these tables, the median age at first marriage, in most cases, was rising among females aged up to 25-29 years and in some cases even for those aged 35-39 years. The rising of the median age at marriage was due mainly to the incompleteness of marriages in the younger birth cohorts, and suggests that in most cases effect of truncation of age was high up to the age of 25-29 years (see Figure 3.1).

The median age at marriage of females aged 45-49 years seemed to have been affected by recall-lapse. Therefore only the marriages of the birth cohorts aged 35-39 and 40-44 may depict their complete marriage experience. Females in these two birth cohorts were b o m prior to 1936 and married before 1956. Therefore they (combination of both birth cohorts) may be used to examine past marriage patterns.

The marriages of the birth cohorts of females aged 25-29 years were also complete to a certain extent. Females in this birth cohort were born during 1946-47 and married after 1960, when the effect of economic hardships and education was high. Therefore they may be taken to reveal recent marriage pattern.

Table 3.7 and Table 3.8 give the median age at marriage for the two

FIGU

RE

- 54-

ta tf W cn rt

•rl T3 Ok C O

^ X ',\ \\ W \

<S co( s a c a j f ) aS-axaaeui ( saweX) o3ef raeui qe aSs uexpawqe a3e traxpaw

•H OH O t-lO h-

H m m «S f-i£ ® oo >> C\J <n r~

i r \o \ IO i l '

0) CT\•H lO

-P H

O 0)

\\ \

(s x b oI) o2cxaxT3iu qe a9e uexpan

Curr

ent

Age

(yea

rs)

- 55-

TABLE 3.7

MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES AGED 25-29 YEARS IN WZ AND DZ BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE AND EDUCATION

1971 CENSUS OF SRI LANKA

Education Type of ResidenceZone Years of

schooling Urban Rural Estate

WZ No schooling 19.6 20.3 18.51-5 20.7 20.6 19.56-9 21.5 21.9 21.0

10 & over 23.9 23.9 24.3

DZ No schooling 17.5 17.4 -1-5 17.8 18.1 -6-9 18.9 19.6 -

10 & over 22.4 24.9 —

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka. Note : '-1 No estate sector.

- 56-

TABLE 3.8

MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES AGED 35-44 YEARS IN WZ AND DZ BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE AND EDUCATION

1971 CENSUS OF SRI LANKA

Education Type of ResidenceZone Years of

schooling Urban Rural Estate

WZ No schooling 20.3 20.5 18.01-5 21.0 21.4 18.96-9 22.7 23.1 19.710 & over 27.7 28.0 28.3

DZ No schooling 18.2 17.7 -1-5 18.5 18.4 -6-9 19.4 19.9 -

10 Si over 22.6 25.0

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka Note : No estate sector.

- 57-

zones by type of residence for females aged 25-29 and 35-44 years, respectively. The lower level of the median in Table 3.7, compared to that in Table 3.8, strongly suggests that the effect of truncation of age on the median was higher in Table 3.7. This was not evident with regard to estate females in WZ as their age at marriage was low.

As the educational attainments increased, the pattern of late marriage among rural females became very clear within the zones in both of the birth cohorts, aged 25-29 and 35-44, as shown in Tables 3.7 and 3.8 respectively. Further, both of these birth cohorts in the two zones showed rapid post­ponement of marriage among females with more than nine years of schooling. Both recent as well as past marriage patterns retained the differences in age at marriage between the zones, as DZ females in both cohorts married later than WZ females.

It is clear that marriage patterns within and between the zones as shown earlier, remained unchanged in recent as well as past marriages. The recent marriage pattern in Table 3.7 indicated that higher education would further postpone marriages of the younger birth cohorts.

Table 3.9 and Table 3.10 give the median age at marriage by education and ethnicity for females in birth cohorts aged 25-29 and 34-44 years respectively in the two zones. Most of the medians in these Tables were affected by "N" less than 20.

The two birth cohorts do not show any significant changes in the marriage patterns by ethnicity, as shown earlier. The positive association of age at marriage with education was evident with regard to all the ethnic groups for which median age at marriage was available in both birth cohorts. The pattern of differences in age at marriage by ethnicity between as well as within the zones, were retained in both birth cohorts, as discussed earlier (Table 3.4 and Table 3.6).

The effect of truncation of age is evident in Table 3.9, with regard to Low Country Sinhalese and Kandyan Sinhalese in both of the zones and also Moors in WZ. This suggests that the effect of higher education was to increase further the age at marriage of females in the younger birth cohorts.

Past and recent marriage patterns, which were examined above by type of residence and ethnicity, do not depict any substantial changes in

- 5 8 -

TÄBLE 3 . 9

MEDIÄN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES AGED 2 5 - 2 9

YEARS IN WZ AND DZ BY EDUCATION AND ETHNICITY

1 9 7 1 CENSUS OF S R I LANKA

E d u c a t i o n E t h n i c i t yZ o n e

Y e a r s o f s c h o o l i n g

S i n h a l e s e T a m i l s M o o r sLow

C o u n t r yK a n d y a n

S r iL a n k a n

I n d i a n

WZ No s c h o o l i n g 2 0 . 3 * * 1 8 . 5 1 7 . 5

1 - 5 2 0 . 7 * * 1 8 . 3 1 9 . 5

6 - 9 2 1 . 9 * * * 2 1 . 9

10 & o v e r 2 3 . 9 * * * *

DZ No s c h o o l i n g 1 8 . 6 1 7 . 1 1 6 . 9 1 7 . 9 1 6 . 3

1 - 5 1 8 . 6 1 7 . 9 1 7 . 4 1 6 . 0 1 6 . 2

6 - 9 1 9 . 7 1 8 . 8 1 9 . 3 * 1 8 . 1

10 & o v e r 2 2 . 9 2 2 . 2 2 0 . 0 * *

S o u r c e :: 1 9 7 1 C e n s u s o f P o p u l a t i o n , 1 0 p e r c e n t s a m p l e S r i L a n k a .

N o t e : * N l e s s t h a n 2 0 .

TABLE 3.10

MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES AGED 35-44 YEARS IN WZ AND DZ BY EDUCATION AND ETHNICITY

1971 CENSUS OF SRI LANKA

Education EthnicityZone Years of

schoolingSinhalese Tamils Moors

LowCountry Kandyan Sri

Lankan Indian

WZ No schooling 20.5 * * 17.4 17.51-5 21.5 * * 17.9 19.46-9 23.0 * * * 22.0

10 & over 28.0 ★ * * *

DZ No schooling 19.0 17.6 17.9 18.6 16.21-5 19.0 18.0 17.3 * 17.26-9 20.3 19.2 18.7 * 18.1

10 & over 25.4 24.7 24.8 * *

Source Note :

: 1971 Census of * N less than 20.

Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka.

- 60-

the marriage patterns after 1960. This does not suggest that the effect of economic constraints and higher education had no impact on the recent marriages. Most probably the recent birth cohort chosen for the study may not be that recent, to have been affected by recent hardships.

Summary

This chapter examined the age at first marriage of currently married females (15-49) by type of residence, ethnicity and education. As education seemed to be the most important variable which affected the age at first marriage, the type of residence and ethnicity were controlled for education. Then the past and recent marriage patterns were also examined.

In all cases, the urban-rural differences in age at marriage was almost negligible within the zones. The estate females tended to marry very early. By ethnicity, Low Country Sinhalese were the latest to marry. Moors in DZ and Indian Tamils in WZ were the earliest to marry within the zones. Moors in WZ showed remarkably higher age at marriage over their counterparts in DZ. By type of residence as well as by ethnicity, age at marriage had a very clear positive association with education. However the differences that existed by type of residence and ethnicity were retained to a greater extent even after they were controlled for education. The reason for this may be the higher agrarian character­istics of DZ than WZ.

- 61-

CHAPTER 4

MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN BY AGE AT MARRIAGE

4.1 INTRODUCTION

The aim of this chapter is to study the differentials in fertility of the currently married females (15-49) in the two zones by their age at first marriage in relation to their characteristics: type of residence, ethnicity and education. In this chapter fertility will be measured by the mean number of children ever born (M/CEB) per currently married female aged 15-49 years. The M/CEB will be taken as the dependant variable and age at marriage as independant variable. The type of residence, ethnicity and educational attainments of the females will be considered as explanatory variables.

The 1971 ten per cent sample census of Sri Lanka asked all the ever married females aged under 50 years, in addition to their age at first marriage, the "number of children ever born alive whether now alive or dead", and the "number of children now living". This chapter analyses only the number of children ever born to currently married females (15-49) in the selected Wet Zone (WZ) and Dry Zone (DZ) in relation to their age at marriage.

The mean number of children ever born per currently married female (15-49) was cross-tabulated by age at marriage and duration of marriage.The duration of marriage, rather than the observed age of females, was selected for the study because of its direct relation to the number of children ever born. The marriage duration was calculated by subtracting the age at marriage (in single years) from the current age (in single years). Marriage duration was then classified into five groups : duration of 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19 and 20 years and more. The age at marriage was also classified into five groups, taking into consideration the median age at marriage in chapter three, as : age at marriage less than 18,18-19, 20-21, 22-23 and 24 years and above.

For comparative purposes the observed mean number of children ever born, M/CEB(o), was standardized for marriage duration. The standardized measure will be referred to as M/CEB(d). A note on the standardization is given in Appendix Al. As there was no significant difference in the

- 62-

distribution of the females in the two zones by marriage duration, the combined population (currently married females (15-49)) of the two zones was taken as the standard population. In some cases the standardization was affected by the small size of N, the number of females in a cell.Where N was less than 20, M/CEB(d) was replaced by M/CEB(o), as mentioned in Tables.

4.2 COMPOSITION OF FEMALES

The composition of females by age, type of residence, ethnicity and education was discussed in Chapter Three. In this section only their distribution by marriage duration and age at marriage will be studied.

Table 4.1 shows greater difference in the distribution by age at marriage between the zones, than by duration of marriage. In the third chapter it was revealed that DZ females married nearly three years earlier than WZ females. As a result, in Table 4.1 more than 60 per cent of the females in DZ were distributed in the first two age at marriage cohorts (less than 18 and 18-19), whereas in WZ more than 60 per cent were in the last three age at marriage cohorts. By duration of marriage there was no marked difference in the distribution of females between the two zones.

4.3 FERTILITY DIFFERENTIALS BY AGE AT MARRIAGEThe fertility (M/CEB(d)) differences by age at marriage, within and

between the zones, will be examined in this section in relation to the type of residence, ethnicity and educational attainments of the females. First, the differences in overall fertility and fertility by age at marriage between the zones will be discussed. Second, the differentials within and between the zones will be explained by characteristics of the females.

Fertility in the Two ZonesIn Table 4.2, the M/CEB(d), ignoring the age at marriage (shown in

the last raw), shows that fertility of the females in DZ was higher than the fertility of those in WZ, by about 0.4 children. In the third chapter the median age at marriage indicated that females in DZ married nearly three years earlier than those in WZ. Thus it is clear that females in DZ married early and had a higher number of children ever b o m than the WZ females.

- 63-

TABLE 4.1

PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES (15-49 BY AGE AT MARRIAGE AND DURATION OF MARRIAGE IN THE TWO ZONES, WZ AND DZ

1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

Age at Marriage Years WZ DZ

Less than 18 14.1 42.318-19 22.4 26.620-21 20.4 15.422-23 16.5 7.6

24 & above 26.6 8.1Total 100.0 100.0

Duration of MarriageYears WZ DZ

io 16.4 17.25-9 20.3 19.8

10-14 18.9 18.715-19 17.1 15.7

20 & more 27.3 28.6Total 100.0 100.0Number 14,785 20,759

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample, Sri Lanka.

TABLE 4.2

MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN, STANDARDIZED FOR DURATION OF MARRIAGE(M/CEB(d)), TO CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES (15-49) IN THE TWO ZONES,

WZ AND DZ BY AGE AT MARRIAGE1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

Age at Marriage Years

WZ DZ

Less than 18 4.5 4.918-19 4.6 4.820-21 4.4 4.522-23 4.2 4.2

24 & above 3.7 3.7

All ages at marriages 4.3 4.7

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample, Sri Lanka.

- 65-

Within the zones, the M/CEB(d) by age at marriage shows that fertility of WZ females in the first age at marriage cohort (less than 18 years) was slightly (0.1 children) lower than the fertility of those in the second age at marriage cohort (18-19 years). This type of pattern is not evident among the DZ females. Therefore it may be due to rounding errors or to sampling errors and may be ignored or else to some peculiar characteristic of the WZ population which has to be studied further by the explanatory variables.

It is clear that M/CEB(d) declined steadily in both of the zones as age at marriage increased. Thus fertility in both the zones had an inverse association with age at marriage.

Between the zones, the difference in fertility in each age at marriage cohort dropped steadily as age at marriage rose, up to age at marriage 20-21 years. The magnitude of the zonal differences in fertility completely disappeared among the females who married after their 22nd birthday.

The inverse relationship of fertility with age at marriage and the interesting zonal difference in fertility need to be explained further.The inverse association of fertility with age at marriage may be due to the strong link between marriage and fertility (Eversley 1965, p.40, and Bumpass 1979, p.2), and the low effect of contraceptive usage and changing ideology of marriage on fertility (Sweet 1977, pp.374-375). In Sri Lanka pre-marital sexual intercourse and rate of ex-nuptial births are very low. Marriage seems to be the most important institution where sex and procreation take place (see Chapter 2, section 2.2). Under these conditions, the link between age at marriage and fertility is a very close one. Therefore in Sri Lanka age at marriage marks the beginning of exposure to the risk of pregnancy and also determines the length of exposure to childbearing.

The extent of the effect of age at marriage on fertility was explained by Henry (1961) in the context of "natural fertility". He defined "natural fertility" as that fertility "which exists or has existed in the absence of deliberate birth control" (Henry 1961, p.81). He pointed out that the average number of children is an approximate linear function of the age at marriage and the average number of children declines to zero when the age at marriage is about 40 years (Henry 1961, pp.87-88).

- 6 6 -

The p a t t e r n o f i n v e r s e a s s o c i a t i o n o f f e r t i l i t y w i t h a g e a t m a r r i a g e

i n t h e two z o n e s seem ed t o b e v e r y c l o s e t o t h e l i n e a r f u n c t i o n shown by

H en ry ( s e e a l s o G a m in i r a tn e 1 9 7 8 , p p . 3 6 - 3 7 ) . T h e r e f o r e t h e l i n k b e tw e e n

a g e a t m a r r i a g e and f e r t i l i t y d o e s n o t seem t o b e d i s t u r b e d by d e l i b e r a t e

b i r t h c o n t r o l . T h e r e f o r e t h e p a t t e r n s o f c o n t r a c e p t i v e u s a g e i n S r i

L anka n e e d s t o be e x p l a i n e d i n b r i e f .

The im p o r t a n c e o f d e l i b e r a t e b i r t h c o n t r o l t o b r i n g a b o u t a b a l a n c e

b e tw e e n p o p u l a t i o n g ro w th an d ec o n o m ic g ro w th was r e a l i z e d by t h e p l a n n e r s

when t h e y i n t r o d u c e d t h e f i r s t Ten Y e a r P l a n i n 1959 ( N a t i o n a l P l a n n i n g

C o u n c i l 1 9 5 9 , p p . 1 5 - 1 6 ) . H ow ever, t h e g o v e rn m e n t was n o t d i r e c t l y i n v o l v e d

i n t h e f i e l d o f f a m i l y p l a n n i n g u n t i l t h e 1 9 6 0 ' s (D .C . & S . 1 9 7 4 , p . 1 1 2 ) .

The N a t i o n a l F a m i ly P l a n n i n g Programme i n S r i L anka was i n t r o d u c e d by t h e

g o v e r n m e n t i n 1 9 6 5 , w i t h t h e aim o f a c h i e v i n g a c r u d e b i r t h r a t e (CBR) o f

25 p e r t h o u s a n d i n 1975 . The d e v e lo p m e n t o f t h i s p rogram m e was d i s c u s s e d

by A b h a y a r a t n a an d J a y a w a rd a n a (1967) a n d i t s im p a c t o n r e c e n t f e r t i l i t y

was e x a m in e d by F e rn a n d o (1976) a n d by W r ig h t (1 9 6 8 , 1970 an d 1 9 7 5 ) .

A c c o rd in g t o them t h e im p a c t o f t h e program m e was m in im a l a s i t s p e r f o r m a n c e

was v e r y s lo w u n t i l 1 9 7 3 , when t h e g o v e rn m e n t i n t e n s i f i e d t h e program m e

a c t i v i t i e s c o n s i d e r a b l y .

The m o s t p o p u l a r m e th o d s o f c o n t r a c e p t i o n w e re t h e IUD a n d f e m a le

s t e r i l i z a t i o n (F e rn a n d o 1 9 7 6 , p . 3 9 ) . T h i s was p r a c t i s e d m a i n l y by t h o s e

who h a d e x c e e d e d t h e d e s i r e d f a m i l y s i z e . G a m i n i r a t n e (1 9 7 8 , p p . 1 0 2 -1 1 5 )

showed t h a t u s e o f c o n t r a c e p t i o n i n t h e c o u n t r y was a s s o c i a t e d w i t h h i g h e r

e d u c a t i o n an d h i g h f e r t i l i t y . The SLFS 1975 (D.C. & S . 1 9 7 8 , p p . 1 4 7 -1 5 1 )

fo u n d t h a t 66 p e r c e n t o f t h e women who w a n te d no m ore c h i l d r e n w ere n o n ­

u s e r s and t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e s e f e m a l e s d i d n o t ev e n i n t e n d t o u s e

c o n t r a c e p t i o n . T h e r e f o r e , i n T a b le 4 . 2 f e r t i l i t y shows a v e r y c l e a r

i n v e r s e a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h ag e a t m a r r i a g e i n b o t h t h e z o n e s .

The p a t t e r n o f z o n a l d i f f e r e n c e i n f e r t i l i t y w i l l be e x p l a i n e d now.

The h i g h f e r t i l i t y o f DZ f e m a le s who m a r r i e d e a r l y co m p ared t o t h a t o f

t h o s e i n WZ an d e q u a l f e r t i l i t y b e tw e e n t h e z o n e s among t h o s e who

m a r r i e d l a t e may be due t o two f a c t o r s : ( i ) d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e c o m p o s i t i o n

o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n i n t h e two z o n e s , and ( i i ) s i m i l a r i t y o f f e r t i l i t y norm s

among t h o s e who m a r r i e d l a t e , due t o e d u c a t i o n .

As shown i n C h a p t e r 3 ( s e c t i o n 3 . 2 ) , t h e s o c i e t y i n DZ i s m ore a g r a r i a n

t h a n t h a t i n WZ. By t y p e o f r e s i d e n c e 91 p e r c e n t o f t h e f e m a l e s l i v e d i n

- 67-

the rural sector, compared to 78 per cent in WZ. Also, there is an estate sector in WZ, with entirely different characteristics which will be explained later. The ethnic composition in DZ was more diversified than in WZ. In WZ 91 per cent of the females were Low Country Sinhalese whose education and median age at marriage was high. In DZ they consisted of only 43 per cent. With regard to education 76 per cent of DZ females had no schooling or had only primary education (less than 6 years of schooling) as compared to 68 per cent in WZ.

In DZ, the educational level of the ethnic groups, except that of the Low Country Sinhalese, was very low (Table 3.2). The majority of the DZ females who had lower educational attainments were distributed mainly in the lower age at marriage cohorts, in Table 4.2, as they married early.The Low Country Sinhalese who had higher educational attainments in both of the zones, since they had higher age at marriage, were mainly distributed in the higher age at marriage cohorts in Table 4.2.

Further, the majority of the government servants, mainly teachers and clerical servants, in DZ were from other parts of the isalnd, because of (i) allottees in DZ were peasants with low education, and (ii) educational expansion in DZ started mainly after 1959. The educational expansion in DZ attracted most of the educated unemployed youth in WZ as teachers and other government officers. As late marriage was associated with higher education most of the educated youth who migrated from WZ for government employment in DZ may be in the higher age at marriage cohorts. Therefore, in both of the zones, they may be having similar fertility norms, whereas those who were in the lower age at marriage cohorts may be having high fertility due to low education, different ethnic and higher agrarian characteristics.

Differentials by Type of Residence

Table 4.3 gives the M/CEB(d) for the two zones by age at marriage and type of residence. The overall fertility was highest among the DZ rural females followed by WZ rural females. The lowest fertility was recorded for the estate females. The females who married at ages less than 18 years exhibited lower fertility in both the urban sectors in the two zones and in the estate sector, than the females who married at ages 18-19 years. Although the fertility difference between the first two age at marriage cohorts for urban females within the zones was almost negligible, being 0.1 children, the difference was somewhat higher (0.3 children) for the

- 6 8 -

TABLE 4 . 3

MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN, STANDARDIZED FOR DURATION OF MARRIAGE,

( M / C E B ( d ) ) , PER CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALE ( 1 5 - 4 9 ) BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE

1 9 7 1 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

Age a t WZ DZM a r r i a g e

Y e a r s U r b a n R u r a l E s t a t e U r b a n R u r a l

L e s s t h a n 18 4 . 3 4 . 7 4 . 0 4 . 4 4 . 9

1 8 - 1 9 4 . 4 4 . 6 4 . 3 4 . 5 4 . 8

2 0 - 2 1 4 . 2 4 . 5 4 . 0 4 . 1 4 . 5

2 2 - 2 3 3 . 9 4 . 3 3 . 8 * 3 . 9 4 . 2

24 & a b o v e 3 . 5 3 . 8 2 . 7 * 3 . 4 3 . 8

A l l 4 . 1 4 . 4 4 . 0 4 . 2 4 . 7

S o u r c e : 1 9 7 1 C e n s u s o f P o p u l a t i o n , 10 p e r c e n t s a m p l e S r i L a n k a .

N o t e : * N l e s s t h a n 2 0 , t h e r e f o r e t h e o b s e r v e d M/CEB i s g i v e n .

- 69-

estate females. The females who married very early in the urban sectors may be the shanty dwellers and in the estate sector, the Indian Tamils, whose education, income, health, sanitation and standard of living may have been very low. Therefore, apart from the possibility of an under-enumeration of CEB, their fertility would have been affected by very poor health and nutritional factors.

Except for the slightly lower fertility among the urban and estate females in the first age at marriage cohort, the clear inverse association of fertility with age at marriage (shown in Table 4.2) within the zones, was also found by type of residence within the zone in Table 4.3. As age at marriage increased, urban females reduced their fertility by 0.9 children in WZ and 1.1 children in DZ between age at marriage cohorts 18-19 and 24 years and above; rural females reduced their fertility by 0.9 and 1.0 children in WZ and DZ, respectively, between age at marriage cohorts less than 18 and 24 years and above. The estate females showed the highest decline (1.6 children) between age at marriage cohorts 18-19 and 24 years and above. (In the estate sector, M/CEB(o) was given for the last two age at marriage cohorts, as N was less than 20).

Within the zones, in each age at marriage cohort, rural females showed higher fertility than the urban females. The urban-rural fertility difference by age at marriage cohorts varied between 0.2 and 0.4 children in WZ and 0.3 and 0.5 children in DZ. It is important to note the low fertility of the estate females by age at marriage, compared to the fertility of the urban and rural females.

Between the zones, the urban-urban and rural-rural differences in fertility dropped steadily as age at marriage rose and disappeared among the females who married after their 20th birthday. This pattern was evident in Table 4.2 also between the zones. It was attributed to the presence of WZ educated females in DZ at higher age at marriage cohorts.

Estate females, within as well as between the zones, showed lower fertility than in the urban and rural sectors. In the third chapter it was shown that estate females were the earliest to marry in WZ, and the majority of them were Indian Tamils, with very low education. Because of their early marriage very few were found in the higher age at marriage cohorts. The low fertility of these females was also identified by the SLFS 1975 (D.C. & S. 1978, pp.88 and 95). However no empirical study has been carried out yet to look into the reasons.

- 70-

Immarwahr* and Selvaratnam* (personal communications) were of the opinion that poor standards of living, health and nutritional conditions might have affected the estate fertility to a greater extent. Several studies (Chandrasekhar 1967, Austin and Levinson 1974, Potter 1975 and Winikoff 1978) showed that poor maternal health and nutrition would increase the rate of pregnancy wastage and hasten the onset of secondary sterility affecting fertility.

Although the social indicators which would show the low living conditions in the estate sector are limited, the growing rates of unemploy­ment and mortality in this sector might show the condition of the estate labour force to a certain extent. After the 1950's the area under tea and rubber (the main estate crops) remained almost constant around 598,000 and 565,000 acres, respectively. As a result the estate work force had declined by 15 per cent between 1953 and 1971. Although the female work force in the estate sector had increased by two per cent between 1953 and 1963, it dropped by 3.6 per cent between 1963 and 1971 (D.C. & S. 1974, p.120). In 1969 more than 60 per cent of the households on estates, as compared to 50 per cent in the rural sector and 20 per cent in the urban sector were below the poverty line (income less than Rupees 200 per month). More than 40 per cent of unemployed on the estates were from these households (ILO. 1971, p.64, Mouly and Costa 1974, p.33).On the estate (tea and rubber) the volume of open unemployment has been estimated to be around 10 per cent of the employed labour force (Mouly and Costa 1974, p.134).

With regard to vital statistics, estate birth rate had declined from 30.9 per thousand in 1964 to 28.5 in 1970, while death rate had increased from 10.5 per thousand to 13.3 during this period. Further, the estate death rate had increased steadily up to 20.6 in 1974 (D.C. & S. 1975c, p.14).

Selvaratnam also considered that low income and economic constraints in the estate sector would have forced females to stay in the work force during most of their reproductive life. The reason is that, frequent

*Immarwahr G. and S. Selvaratnam (now in ESCAP) have been involved in Sri Lanka demographic research over a long period.

- 71-

pregnancies and childbirth tend to keep them out of employment for a long period which would seriously affect their family income.

Differentials by Ethnicity

4.4 gives the M/CEB(d) for the two zones by age at marriage and fertility. The overall fertility by ethnicity shows that in WZ, the Indian Tamils followed by the Low Country Sinhalese had the lowest fertility. The highest fertility was recorded for the Sri Lanka Tamils followed by the Kandyan Sinhalese. Moors fertility ranked in between the Low Country Sinhalese and Kandyan Sinhalese’ fertility.

In DZ also the lowest fertility was recorded for the Indian Tamils and the Low Country Sinhalese. The Kandyan Sinhalese followed by the Moors had the highest fertility. Both Low Country and Kandyan Sinhalese are Buddhists and Sri Lanka and Indian Tamils are Hindu by religion. However, within the zones, the highest difference in fertility between the sub-ethnic groups was shown by Tamils (Sri Lankan and Indian) in WZ.It was mainly because of the very low fertility of Indian Tamils, who were mainly confined to the estates in WZ. In DZ also they showed lower fertility than Sri Lanka Tamils.

The majority of Indian Tamils in the estates were brought to the island by British planters (Sarkar 1957, pp.174-196), whereas those in the Dry Zone were mainly illicit immigrants. Both these groups are treated as a stateless population". Some of them were given Sri Lanka citizenship by registration and others are waiting for repatriation under the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of 1964 (D.C. & S. 1974, p.2-3). Their fertility may be low due to their low living standards in both of the zones as shown with regard to estate fertility.

Contrary to the present study the SLFS 1975 (D.C. & S. 1978, pp.88-92) and Gaminiratne (1978, pp.40-56) identified Moor/Muslims as the ethno­religious group with the highest fertility. According to the present study the Kandyan Sinhalese in DZ showed the highest fertility. The difference between the present study and the above two studies may be due to sampling errors. However the Moors in DZ (Table 4.4) did not show the clear inverse relationship shown by other females between their fertility and age at marriage. The M/CEB(d) of Moor females who married before their 20th birthday remained constant at 4.8, whereas that of those who married after their 20th birthday remained constant at 4.3.

- 72-

TABLE 4.4

MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN, STANDARDIZED FOR DURATION OF MARRIAGE (M/CEB(d) ) , PER CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALE (15-49) BY ETHNICITY

1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

ZoneAge at

Marriage Years

EthnicitySinhalese

Low v jKandyanCountry

TamilsSr IndianLankan

Moors

WZ Less than 18 4.6 4.7* 5.3* 4.6* 5.1*18-19 4.6 5.3* 4.9* 4.0* 4.4*20-21 4.4 4.5* 3.8* 3.5* 4.2*22-23 4.2 3.3* 3.8* 3.6* 3.9*24 + 3.7 3.0* 3.4* 2.2* 3.5*All 4.3 4.6 4.8 3.9 4.4

DZ Less than 18 4.6 5.1 4.8 4.5* 4.818-19 4.6 5.0 4.5 4.9* 4.820-21 4.4 4.7 4.3 4.5* 4.322-23 4.1 4.5 3.7 3.6* 4.324+ 3.6 4.2 3.6 3.9* 4.3

All 4.4 5.0 4.6 4.4 4.8

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka Note : * N less than 20, therefore the observed M/CEB is given.

- 73-

The fertility of the Low Country Sinhalese indicated a very clear inverse relationship with age at marriage within the zones. Between the zones, in each age at marriage cohort, they had almost equal levels of fertility, as those in DZ were migrants from WZ.

Differentials by Education

Table 4.5 gives the M/CEB(d) by educational attainments and age at marriage for the two zones. This Table shows one of the most interesting patterns of fertility behaviour in Sri Lanka, that is, the inverse association of fertility with age at marriage as well as with education, in both the zones. The overall fertility by education indicated that the number of children ever born per female fell by 0.8 children in WZ and 1.4 children in DZ as the education of the females had increased from no schooling to 10 years and more schooling. Females who had less than five years of schooling in DZ showed higher fertility than those in WZ, whereas those who had more than six years of schooling had almost no difference between the zones.

In both of the zones Indian Tamils had comparatively low level of fertility (Table 4.4). The majority of them had very early marriage and no schooling. Therefore it may be assumed that in Table 4.5 the females with no schooling in age at marriage cohort less than 18 may be reflecting the low fertility of the Indian Tamils, as the fertility in that cohort was lower than that in the 18-19 age at marriage cohort. However, the females who had 10 years or more schooling and married before their 18th birthday may be showing low fertility due to the small number of females in that age at marriage cohort.

Within the zones, as age at marriage rose the drop in the number of children ever born between the lowest and the highest ages at marriage by education was as follows:

Education Number of ChildrenWZ DZ

No schooling 0.8* 1.01-5 years schooling 0.8 1.06-9 years schooling 0.8 0.710 years and more schooling 0.9* 0.7**Between age at marriage 18-19 and 24 years and over

Source : Table 4.5

TABLE 4.5

MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN, STANDARDIZED FOR DURATION OF MARRIAGE (M/CEB(d)), PER CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALE (15-49) BY EDUCATION

1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

Age at Number of years of schoolingZone Marriage

YearsNo

Schooling 1-5 6-9 10+

WZ Less than 18 4.4 4.6 4.5 3.318-19 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.320-21 4.4 4.5 4.3 3.922-23 4.2 4.3 4.2 3.724+ 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.4

All 4.4 4.4 4.2 3.6

DZ Less than 18 5.0 4.8 4.4 3.818-19 5.1 4.7 4.3 4.420-21 4.7 4.5 4.1 3.222-23 4.5 4.4 3.8 3.624+ 4.1 3.8 3.7 3.1

All 4.9 4.6 4.2 3.5

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka

- 75-

As the number of years of schooling increased the drop in the number of children ever born between the lowest and the highest educational attainments was as follows:

Age at Marriage Years

Number of WZ

ChildrenDZ

Less than 18 1.1 1.218-19 0.3 0.720-21 0.5 1.522-23 0.5 0.924 and above 0.4 1.0

Source: Table 4.5

By age at marriage as well as by education the DZ females tended to show the highest decline in their number of children ever born. As age at marriage and educational attainments of the females rose the differences in fertility between the zones seemed to become minimal. The main reason was the migration of WZ educated females in to the DZ, as shown above with regard to Table 4.2.

4.4 EFFECT OF EDUCATION ON FERTILITY

In the previous discussion, it was evident that the fertility of Sri Lankan females has had an inverse relationship with age at marriage as well as with education. In the third chapter it was shown that age at marriage has had a positive association with education. Therefore education had an impact on age at marriage as well as on fertility as follows:

AGE AT MARRIAGE

EDUCATION

FERTILITY

In Sri Lanka, perhaps the most important variable which had an invluence on both age at marriage as well as on fertility was education. At the same time, it is clear that fertility was determined both by age at marriage as well as by education. This suggests that age at marriage and fertility should be analysed by the educational attainments of the females, also.

- 76-

In this case also, M/CEB was cross-tabulated by age at marriage and duration of marriage, but using a broad classification to avoid cells where N was less than 20. Age at marriage was classified as: age at marriage less than 20 and 20 years and above. Marriage duration was classified as:0-9 years and 10 years and more duration. M/CEB(o) was standardized for marriage duration using the same standard population as earlier (Section 1.4, and Appendix Al).

Fertility by Type of Residence and Education

Table 4.6 gives the M/CEB(d) by age at marriage, type of residence and education for the two zones. The inverse association of fertility with age at marriage and education as well (Table 4.5) can be found in Table 4.6 only with regard to urban and rural females within the zones.In the estate sector, fertility of the females who married under age 20 had a positive association with education. However estate females in each educational category experienced the inverse association of their fertility with age at marriage.

Earlier it was pointed out that estate fertility was low because of very low living standards, health and nutritional factors. Further education of estate females might have brought about modernization among them to a certain extent. It also can accompany consciousness about health, cleanliness, better food and nutrition and better living conditions. Improved health might have improved their fertility also. Romaniuk (1974, p.357), studying James Bay Indians, observed that "during its earliest stages, the modernization process may bring about an increase in fertility among populations which do not practise birth control".However, it is not known whether, the modernization which came through education had actually increased the estate fertility or whether their fertility had increased due to some other reason, which is beyond this study.

Within the zones, WZ rural females who married under age 20 showed higher fertility in each educational category than the urban females. This urban-rural pattern could be seen among the females who married after their 20th birthday also, in WZ. However in DZ urban and rural females who had 10 years or more schooling in both age at marriage cohorts tended to show somewhat equal levels of fertility. In other cases rural females had higher fertility than urban females, as in WZ.

- 77-

TABLE 4.6

(M/CEB(d)), PER CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALE WHO MARRIED BEFORE ;AND AFTER THE20TH BIRTHDAY BY EDUCATION AND TYPE OF RESIDENCE, FOR THE TWO ZONES

1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

Years WZ DZSector of Age at Marriage Age at Marriage

Schooling Less than 20 and Less than 20 and20 above 20 above

Urban No schooling 4.6 3.9 4.6 3.91-5 4.6 4.1 4.6 4.36-9 4.5 3.7 4.1 3.210 & more 3.1 3.0 3.9 3.1

Rural No schooling 5.0 4.4 5.3 4.71-5 4.8 4.1 4.7 4.26-9 4.5 3.9 4.1 3.810 & more 4.0 3.3 3.8 3.1

Estate No schooling 4.2 3.71-5 4.4 4.16-9 4.5 3.410 & more * *

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka. Note : * N less than 20.

- 78-

Between the zones a clear pattern is not visible, but in the rural sectors fertility of females who had more than six years of schooling showed low fertility in DZ, as compared to that in WZ.

Table 4.6 may be compared with Table 4.3 in WZ, M/CEB (d) of urban females who married under age 20 in Table 4.3, varied between 4.4 and 4.3 showing a very small range of 0.1. When fertility of these females was analysed by educational attainments of the females M/CEB(d) (in Table 4.6) it varied between 4.6 and 3.1, showing a very high range of 1.5. This pattern was found with regard to all the females in urban and rural sectors in both of the zones.

Fertility by Ethnicity and Education

Table 4.7 gives the M/CEB(d) by ethnicity, age at marriage and education. In some cases M/CEB(d) was affected by N less than 20 and in such cases it was not given. Even M/CEB(o) was not given as it was also distorted to a greater extent by N less than 20. With regard to Indian Tamils (because of their very low education) educational categories above five years of schooling was not given, and with regard to Moors, 10 years and more schooling category was also not given due to the very small size of N.

Within the zones, fertility of the WZ Low Country Sinhalese very clearly showed the inverse association with age at marriage as well as with education. This pattern was found in DZ among the Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Sri Lanka Tamils. The fertility of Indian Tamils and Moors in DZ also showed this pattern to a certain extent, although their M/CEB(d)s are not complete. In all other cases, although fertility had an inverse association with age at marriage, the association with education was not clear, due to incompleteness of M/CEB(d).

4.5 RECENT FERTILITY AND COMPLETED FERTILITY

In this section M/CEB(o) of the females with marriage duration 0-4 years will be considered as recent fertility. M/CEB(o) of those who had 20 years and or more marriage duration will be considered as completed fertility.

NU

MB

ER

O

F

CH

ILD

RE

N

EV

ER

B

OR

N,

ST

AN

DA

RD

IZE

D

FO

R

DU

RA

TIO

N

OF

M

AR

RIA

GE

, (M

/CE

B(d

)),

PE

R

CU

RR

EN

TL

Y

MA

RR

IED

FE

MA

LE

W

HO

M

AR

RIE

D

BE

FO

RE

A

ND

A

FT

ER

T

HE

20

TH

B

IRT

HD

AY

B

E

ED

UC

AT

ION

A

ND

E

TH

NIC

ITY

F

OR

T

HE

TW

O

ZO

NE

S1

97

1

CE

NS

US

, S

RI

LA

NK

A

- 7 9 -

§

£

NQ

CDftrd

■HPPcda

Pfd

<dft<

ßfdft4-1

O CO CN COcdft

N£

0)ftfd

•HPPfdapfd

0)ft

Td a) ß > rd o

r Qo fd04

ßtdftft oCO 04 CO <D PI

fta

CO -Hp I—Ird 44 O I) o o >H f t

Üm

t>ift•HÜ

■HßftLw

00 O' Cn OCn CO I—l I—1

H CN

o~ CN ^ ro

CN Cd H 00 I—I H r—I

04 LD 00 40 ID

CN CO f t ID OrH CN rH

CD CN p ' f t CO

N 1 n roro

CO ^ cn ro CN

d 1 d 1 ro ro H ro

ro ro f t CN CD

4* 4 1 n ro LOCN

CN• *

rH CO <N 00 in

CO N 1 N 1 ro IT) CN

IO ÖC n 1 CD lO

in •e? «ef roro

f t ro ro on O ' O c o

' ^ ' cJ’ ^ ^ cn c f n > H H

O CD in CO ro CN cD ro

er cf in oH H H H H

CNCN

^ CDI—I I—I

ro H CO ro CN

N* c f ro o ) roCN

ro CN• • He *

Nt1 ro

CN• * * He

«erin cd co

ro ro CN+

o co in r - o

in ^ ^ ro CDCN

CN in in• * • *

in «3» roc--1

• * * *in

H ro cn

^ 'sT+

ft On Onß CD ß CD ß•H P •rl P -H■—i 0 i—1 0 1—10 g 0 g 00 0 0si in ft ca si in cn c3 si uo cno i 1 ü i l u l lCO rH CD o COi—i CD O COrH CDrH i—10 0 0a a a

>1 P pP CD CDP CD ft CD f t fdß CO (0 ftP CD cd a CD CD ß0 H ß <d rH ß td COu fd •H fd ■H p t—1

s i t—1 Td s i i—1 •H£ ß ü ß ß ü H g0 •H CD (d •H • CD P fdft CO Q « CO Q CO Eh

a)inOgC6OI—1

ftß<dapCDftCD ß

■H ■—1 Ü <Da

ftc■H

I—Io * o *

f t ma ICO H

Oa

CO I—I•rHgrdHßrd

•HTOßH

PßCDuPCDftCDß

•HHUs

co ro• • a

I—1 CNi—i + CO

fd

coHCD>

in in O CD• • He • H

OHfdß0

■HPtduP

TdCD

t—i CN CD• • • • P

in r ' CDi—i s i

f t•Hs i

p0

4H

cn CD CD ß• • • CD

ro O ro >CN H H •H

f t. P O

fd 0 CNf tr* ß ("Hfd COP •H s i

in CN CO in p• • • • ■H .__

ro ro 00 P Td CO+ CO — • CO

f t CD<D w H

H uf t \ ag ar3CO CO f t

pP 0 Tdß 0 CD

cD C'' ro CD a P• • • t U Ü

H1 Td CDP ß 4hCD r3 4Hf t rd

coO i—i COrH •H CD

g •H** P

ß EH 00 f t

f t •H ß CDß p fd P

•H td •rH (di—1 t—i Td ü0 He P ß0 He f t H H

s i in cn 0 rda i i p ßco i—i CD • 0

4H o •H0 0 CN • Pa o rd

to ß CN üP 13 PCO S i ß Tdß p ro CD

P CD s iß U CO p pCD CO CDO t—1 0) CO S i

r - H CO f tP cn CD •HCD i—i a H f tf t

•• He HeCD Heß CD • •

CO •H Üp i—1 P CD0 Ü P P0 CD 0 0a Q in a

- 80-

Recent Fertility

Table 4.8 gives the M/CEB(o) by education and type of residence for the females who married before and those who married after their 20th birthday and had a marriage duration 0-4 years, for the two zones.

This Table reveals the fertility experience and behaviour of those females who married during 1966-71, that is, within the five years before the Census. The majority of these females were less than 25 years of age.In this Table they indicated their fertility achievements within the first five years of marriage. Almost all of them tended to have at least one child within the first five years of marriage.

In WZ the urban and estate females who had no schooling and married under age 20 showed higher fertility achievements than the other females, within as well as between the zones. The urban and estate females who married after their 20th birthday and had no schooling showed lower fertility achievements.

Completed FertilityTable 4.9 gives the M/CEB(o) for the females who had 20 years or

more marriage duration by type of residence and education. This Table shows the fertility experience and behaviour of the females who married before 1950 and were in their forties, at the time of the Census. Most of these females had completed their fertility at the time of the Census. Therefore they reveal the past fertility experience.

All the WZ females (urban, rural and estate) females who married under age 20 and had no schooling reported lower fertility than those who had 1-5 years of schooling. The same pattern was found among the WZ urban and estate females who married after their 20th birthday and among all the DZ urban females, who had no schooling.

Within the zones only WZ urban females who married under age 20 showed a positive association with education. In all the other cases fertility had an inverse association with age at marriage and education. Between the zones both urban and rural females who had more than five years of schooling tended to show lower fertility in DZ than in WZ.

There is a possibility of an under-enumeration of CEB among these females due to recall-lapse as (i) they had a long marriage duration, and

- 81-

TABLE 4.8

MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN PER CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALE WITH MARRIAGE DURATION 0-4 YEARS AND MARRIED BEFORE AND AFTER 20TH BIRTHDAY

BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE AND EDUCATION 1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

ZoneYearsof

Schooling

Age at MarriageLess than 20 years 20 years and above

Urban Rural Estate Urban Rural Estate

WZ No schooling 1.6 1.4 1.8 1.2 1.5 1.31-5 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.66-9 1.4 1.3 * 1.4 1.3 ★

10 & above 1.3 1.4 * 1.2 1.3 ★

DZ No schooling 1.4 1.4 • • 1.3 1.5 • •

1-5 1.3 1.4 • • 1.3 1.3 • •

6-9 1.3 1.3 • • 1.2 1.2 • •

10 & above 1.4 1.2 • • 1.3 1.2 • •

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka.Note : * N less than 20.

No estate sector

- 82-

TABLE 4.9

MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN PER CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALE WITH MARRIAGE DURATION 20 YEARS OR MORE AND MARRIED BEFORE AND AFTER 20TH

BIRTHDAY BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE AND EDUCATION 1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

ZoneYearsof

Schooling

Age at MarriageLess than 20 years 20 years and above

Urban Rural Estate Urban Rural Estate

WZ No schooling 6.4 7.3 6.2 5.8 6.4 5.31-5 6.6 7.4 6.5 6.1 6.3 6.26-9 6.9 6.6 * 5.5 6.2 *

10 & above ★ 5.8 * 5.8 4.5 *

DZ No schooling 6.2 7.7 • • 5.7 6.7 • •

1-5 6.8 7.3 • • 6.4 6.4 • •

6-9 5.9 6.4 4.7 4.7 • •10 & above * 5.4 • • * 4.1 • •

Source :: 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka.Note : * N less than 20.

No estate sector

- 83-

(ii) they had to spend their most fertile period on the verge of mortality decline in Sri Lanka.

The dramatic mortality decline after 1946 with the control of malaria, which affected DZ to a greater extent (ESCAP 1975, 8-9, Meegama 1967, p.207 and Gray 1974, pp.207-209). Between 1946 and 1950 crude death rate (CDR) dropped from 19.8 to 12.4 per thousand and infant mortality rate (IMR) dropped from 141 to 82 per thousand live births. During the next five year period, 1951-56, CDR declined from 12.7 to 9.8 and IMR from 82 to 67. Meegama (1967, pp.218-235) showed that although IMR was generally high in all the districts it was very high in DZ districts, as compared to other districts, just prior to 1950. Because of high IMR and recall-lapse there might have been some underenumeration of CEB. This will be examined in the Appendix to this chapter.

Recent and Completed Fertility by EthnicityTable 4.10 gives the M/CEB(o) by education and age at marriage only

for the Low Country Sinhalese who had 0-4 marriage duration and 20 years or more marriage duration. Other ethnic groups will not be considered because of the very small size of N.

In Table 4.10 WZ as well as DZ Low Country Sinhalese females, who had 0-4 years of marriage duration, no schooling and married after their 20th birthday had given birth to more children than the others. However, most of these females (Low Country Sinhalese) tended to have more than one child within the first five years of marriage. According to this Table, even the past fertility of the Low Country Sinhalese (with marriage duration 20 years and more) had an inverse relationship with age at marriage as well as with education.

Between the zones, except females with no schooling and DZ females who had 10 years or more schooling and married under age 20 years, all the others showed lower fertility in DZ, than in WZ. This might be due to an under-enumeration of CEB among the DZ females, who had experienced high IMR during their first few years of marriage, as shown earlier (see Appendix to Chapter 4).

- 84-

TABLE 4.10

MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN PER CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALE WITH MARRIAGE DURATION 0-4 AND 20 YEARS OR MORE AND MARRIED BEFORE AND

AFTER 20TH BIRTHDAY FOR THE LOW COUNTRY SINHALESE FEMALES BY EDUCATION

MarriageDuration

Yearsof

WZAge at Marriage

DZAge at Marriage

Schooling Less than 20 & Less than 20 &20 years above 20 years above

0-4 No schooling 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.61-5 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.36-9 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3

10 & above 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.3

20 & No schooling 7.3 6.3 7.2 6.6more 1-5 7.2 6.3 6.8 6.2

6-9 6.8 6.0 6.0 5.510 & above 5.4 4.8 5.6 4.2

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample Sri Lanka

- 85-

Summary

In this chapter fertility of currently married females (15-49) was analysed by age at marriage, in relation to their type of residence, ethnicity and education. It was found that fertility of the females in both the zones was inversely associated with age at marriage as well as with education. The educational achievements of the females seemed to be the most important variable which had an impact on fertility as well as on age at marriage.

The estate females and Indian Tamils showed the lowest fertility achievements, while Kandyan Sinhalese had the highest fertility. The fertility of Moors ranked in between that of the Low Country Sinhalese and the Kandyan Sinhalese. Sri Lankan Tamils fertility was somewhat higher than the fertility of Indian Tamils.

The DZ females who married early tended to show higher fertility achievements than the WZ females, but as age at marriage and educational attainments increased the zonal fertility differences tended to be minimized.

- 86-

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

This chapter serves as a review and integration of findings in the present study. The first chapter outlined the objectives and scope of the study and provided a background towards understanding the recent socio-economic and demographic transition in Sri Lanka. Most of the socio-economic, political and population problems have been developing since the population explosion, which occurred following the dramatic mortality decline after 1946. On the other hand, the foreign exchange problems caused by the deteriorating terms of trade after 1959 crippled the economic development. The rate of economic development could not keep pace with the rate of population growth. The imbalance between economic and educational planning created a grave unemployment problem among educated youth of marriageable age. These problems reached a climax in the form of a youth revolt in April 1971. The Census was taken just after this on October 9, 1971.

The second chapter revealed that the very low legal age of entry into unions, specified in the three marriage laws had no impact on the present age at marriage. This chapter also outlined the traditional aspects of marriage and analysed the marital status of the population.It indicated a new pattern of rising age at marriage, especially among females, retaining the old pattern of universal marriage.

Some of the plausible reasons for the postponement of marriage are as follows: i) the impact of higher education, ii) unemployment amongeducated youth (both males and females), iii) the changes in process in the traditional aspects of marriage due to modernization that came through the involvement of females in higher education and employment outside the home, iv) the higher proportion of females entering the labour force, to maximize their economic opportunities utilizing the newly acquired educational qualifications, v) the males' preference for working partners due to economic constraints on families, and vi) the sex imbalance to a certain extent.

- 87-

The third chapter analysed the age at first marriage of currently married females (15-49) in the two zones, the Wet Zone (WZ) and the Dry Zone (DZ). The females in the DZ tended to marry nearly three years earlier than the females in the WZ. It appears that the urban-rural differences in age at marriage within the zones were not as significant as the difference between the zones. The early marriage in DZ may be due to the low educational and high agrarian characteristics of the females. The estate females, who also had very low education, were the earliest to marry.

By ethnicity, the Indian Tamils in the WZ, who were mainly in the estate sector, and the Moors in the DZ were the earliest to marry. The Low Country Sinhalese, followed by the Kandyan Sinhalese in both the zones were the latest to marry. Within the zones, the difference in age at marriage shown by the two Tamil-sub-ethnic groups seemed to be very small compared to that of the two Sinhalese sub-ethnic groups.

Between the zones, a remarkable difference in age at marriage was shown by the Moors, as the WZ Moors married nearly three years later than the DZ Moors. Most probably the late marriage of the WZ Moor females is due to their involvement in higher education. The smallest zonal difference in fertility was shown by the Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils.

Age at marriage of the females in both of the zones had a very clear positive association with education. A female who had more than nine years of schooling tended to marry nearly seven years later than a female who had no schooling. Higher education might have induced the late marriage among the females for two reasons: i) to a certain extent there is an incompatibility between marriage and continuing education. Therefore they had to postpone their marriage until they finish education, and ii) education was also associated with unemployment. The unemployment among the educated youth of marriageable ages tended to postpone their marriage until they could find employment.

The unemployment in the WZ was higher than in the DZ, whereas the DZ was more agrarian than the WZ. Therefore, a DZ female, who was equally educated as a WZ female, had a higher risk of getting married earlier than a WZ female.

The fourth chapter examined the fertility differentials by their age at marriage. With regard to overall fertility, the DZ females who married

- 88-

early showed somewhat higher fertility than the WZ females. However, in both the zones fertility was inversely associated with age at marriage.By type of residence the rural females in both of the zones showed higher fertility than urban females. The fertility of the estate females was strikingly lower than that of the females in the other two sectors. The majority of the estate females were Indian Tamils. The low fertility among these females may be attributed to their low income, poor living standards and health, sanitary and nutritional factors. The urban-urban and rural-rural differences in fertility between the zones seemed to be almost negligible.

By ethnicity, the Kandyan Sinhalese females recorded the highest fertility followed by the Moor females within the zones. (Sri Lankan Tamils in WZ also showed very high fertility, but their sample size being very small, the error might have been high.) The fertility difference shown by the two Sinhalese sub-ethnic groups within the zones was very low, as compared with the difference shown by the two Tamil sub-ethnic groups. This may be due to the strikingly low fertility among the Indian Tamils, despite their early marriage.

Fertility of the females in both of the zones was inversely associated with age at marriage as well as with education. Both late marriage and higher educational attainments of the females had induced low fertility among them. The late marriage was also promoted by the involvement of females in higher education. However, among the estate females and Indian Tamils the low fertility was evident due to factors other than education, as shown above. Further education among the estate females had tended to increase their fertility to a certain extent. Most probably education among these females might have improved their living standards and consciousness about health and sanitation.

In most of the cases rising age at marriage and education had minimized the fertility differences between the zones. However, the ethnic differences within the zones and the zonal differences in age at marriage existed even by education, but in all the cases education promoted late marriage. On the other hand fertility was inversely associated with age at marriage as well as with education. Therefore education seems to be the most important variable which had an impact on both fertility and age at marriage.

- 89-

In some cases, mainly in the urban and estate sectors, the females who married under age 18 years, showed slightly lower fertility rather than the females who married at ages 18-19 years. This may be due to the sampling errors as well as to the low fertility of the shanty dwellers in the urban sectors and estate Indian females who married very early in both the zones. However the fertility levels of the shanty dwellers in not known, but it may be assumed to be affected by low income, health and nutritional factors.

- 90-

List of References

ABHAYARATNA, O.E.R. and C.H.S. JAYAWARDANA (1967), Fertility Trends in Ceylon, Colombo Apothecaries, Colombo.

AHMED, Feroz (1969), "Age at Marriage in Pakistan" , Journal of Marriage and the Family, 31, pp.799-805.

AUSTIN, James E. and F. James LEVINSON (1974), "Population and nutritionA case for integration", Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 52, pp.169-184.

BUMPASS, Larry L. (1979) , Changing linkage of nuptiality and fertility in the United States, Seminar on Nuptiality and Fertility, Bruges,8-11 January, 1979, IUSSP.

__________ and Edward K. MBURUGU (1977) , "Age at marriage and completedfamily size", Social Biology, 24, pp.31-37.

BANSIL, P.C. (1971), Ceylon Agriculture: A Perspective, Oxford and IBH.,New Delhi.

BECKER, Gary S. (1960), "An economic analysis of fertility", Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries: A Conference ofUniversities, pp.209-239, National Bureau of Committee for Economic Research, Princeton University.

__________ (1965), "Theory of the allocation of time", Economic Journal,75, pp.493-517.

BECKER, Gary S. and H. Gregg LEWIS (1973), "On the interaction between the quality and quantity of children", Journal of Political Economy,81, pp.s279-s299.

BORRIE, W.D. (1970), The Growth and Control of World Population, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London.

BUSFIELD, Joan (1972), "Age at marriage and family size : Socialcausation and social selection hypothesis", Journal of Biological Sciences, 4, pp.117-134.

CALDWELL, J.C., P.F. MCDONALD and L.T. RUZICKA (1979), Nuptiality andFertility in Australia, 1921-1976, Seminar on Nuptiality and Fertility, Bruges, 8-11 January, 1979 IUSSP.

CENTRAL BANK OF CEYLON (L964), Survey of Ceylon Consumer Finances 1963, Central Bank of Ceylon, Colombo.

CHANDRASEKHAR, S. (1967) "Infant Mortality in Madras City", World Population Conference 1965, Vol. II, pp.406-409., U.N.

CHOJNACKA, Helena (1976), "Nuptiality pattern in an agrarian society", Demography, 2, pp.203-226.

- 91-

CLARKE, Colin (1967), Population Growth and Land Use, McMillan, London.COALE, Ansley J. (1967), "Factors associated with the development of

low fertility: An historic summary", World Population Conference 1965, Vol.II, pp.205-209, U.N.

__________and C.Y. TYE (1961), "The significance of age pattern offertility in high fertility populations", Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 39, pp.631-646.

__________and Noreen GOLDMAN and Lee-Jay CHO (1979) , Nuptiality andfertility in the Republic of Korea, Seminar on Nuptiality and Fertility, Bruges, 8-11 January, IUSSP.

DAS, Nitai Chandra (1967), "A note on the effect of postponement of marriage on fertility", World Population Conference 1965, Vol.II, pp.128-131, U.N.

DAVIS-BLAKE, Judith (1967) , "Parental control, delayed marriage andpopulation policy", World Population Conference 1965, Vol.II, pp.132-136,U.N.

DAVIS, Kingsley (1963) , "Theory of change and response in modern demographic history", Population Index, 29, pp.345-366.

DAY, Lincoln H. (1967), "Catholic teaching and Catholic fertility",World Population Conference 1965, Vol. II, p.249, U.N.

De SILVA, K.E.A. (1976), "Money supply, inflation and the balance of payments in Sri Lanka, 1959-74", Journal of Development Studies, 13, pp.22-36.

DEPARTMENT OF CENSUS AND STATISTICS (1950), Year Book of Ceylon, Department of Census and Statistics, Colombo.

__________ (1957), Census of Population, 1953, Department of Census andStatistics, Colombo.

_________ (1960), Ceylon Year Book, Department of Census and Statistics,Colombo.

__________ (1961), Ceylon Year Book, Department of Census and Statistics,Colombo.

__________ (1965), Census of Agriculture 1962, Vol.I, Department of Censusand Statistics, Colombo.

__________ (1967), Census of Population, 1963, Department of Census andStatistics, Colombo.

__________ (1969) , Ceylon Economic Atlas, Department of Census andStatistics, Colombo.

- 92-

__________ (1971) , Socio-Economic Survey Report, 1969-70, Departmentof Census and Statistics, Colombo.

__________ (1974), Population of Sri Lanka, (World Population Year),Department of Census and Statistics, Colombo.

__________ (1975a), Census of Population, 1971, Department of Censusand Statistics, Colombo.

__________ (1975b), Statistical Pocket Book, Department of Census andStatistics, Colombo.

__________ (1975c), Vital Statistics Bulletin, Department of Censusand Statistics, Colombo.

__________ (1978), World Fertility Survey, 1975, First Report, Departmentof Census and Statistics, Colombo.

ESCAP (1975), Comparative Study of Population Growth and AgriculturalChange, A case study of Sri Lanka, Asian Population Study Series No. 23,U.N.

EVERSLEY, D.E.C. (1965), "Population, Economy and Society", In: Population in History, ed. by D.V. Glass and D.E.C. Eversley, pp.22-69, London, Edward Arnold.

FAGLEY, Richard M. (1967), "Doctrines and attitudes of major religions in regard to fertility". World Population Conference 1965, Vol.II, pp.78-84, U.N.

FARMER, B.H. (1957), Pioneer Peasant Colonization in Ceylon, A study in Asian agrarian problems, Oxford University Press, London.

FERNANDO, D.F.S. (1972), "Recent fertility decline in Ceylon", Population Studies, 26, pp.445-453.

__________ (1974), "A note on differential fertility in Sri Lanka",Demography, 2, pp.441-456.

__________ (1975), "Changing nuptiality pattern in Sri Lanka 1901-1971",Population Studies, 29, pp.179-189.

__________ (1976), "Fertility trends in Sri Lanka and future prospects",Journal of Biological Science, 8, pp.35-43.

FREEDMAN, R. and J. CASTERLINE (1979), Nuptiality and Fertility in Taiwan, Seminar on Nuptiality and Fertility, Burges, 8-11, January, IUSSP.

GAMINIRATNE, K.H.W. (1978), Fertility differentials in Sri Lanka, M.A. Thesis (unpublished), Department of Demography, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

- 93-

GLICK, Paul C. (1967), "Marriage and family variables related to fertility", World Population Conference 1965, Vol.II, pp.210-213, U.N.

GRAY, R.H. (1974), "The decline of mortality in Ceylon and the demographic effects of malaria control", Population Studies, 28, pp.205-229.

HABAKKUK, H.J. (1965), "English population in the eighteenth century",In: Population in History, ed. by D.V. Glass and D.E.C. Eversley, pp.269-284, London, Edward Arnold.

HAJNAL, John (1953), "Age at marriage and proportions marrying", Population Studies, 7, pp.111-136.

__________ (1965), "European marriage pattern in perspective", In:Population in History, ed. by D.V. Glass and D.E.C. Eversley, pp.101-147.

HENIN, R.A. (1969), "Nomadic fertility as compared with that of rain cultivators in Sudan", Proceedings of the International Population Conference, London, pp.792-800.

HENRY, L. (1961), "Some data on natural fertility", Eugenics Quarterly,8, pp.81-91.

HIRABAYASHI, G. and P.A. SARAM (1977), "Factors underlying modernity:Birth planning preferences in Sri Lanka", Asian Profile, 5, pp.50-62.

ILO (1971), Matching Employment Opportunity and Expectations, A programme of action for Ceylon, Report, ILO.

INDRARATNA, A.D.V. de S. (1966), The Ceylon Economy, M.D. Gunasena,Colombo.

JAYASURIYA, D.C. (1976), Law and Population Growth in Sri Lanka, Law and Population Program. The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts.

JONES, G.W. and S. SELVARATNAM (1972), Population Growth and Economic Development in Ceylon, Marga, Sri Lanka.

KHALIFA, A.M. (1976), The influence of wifes education on fertility in rural Egypt", Journal of Biological Sciences, 8, pp.53-60.

KIM, Yun (1967), "Age at marriage and trend of fertility in Korea",World Population Conference 1965, Vol. II, pp.145-148, U.N.

KIRK, Dudley (1967), "Factors affecting Moslem fertility", World Population Conference 1965, Vol.II, pp.149-154.

__________ (1968), "Factors affecting Moslem fertility", In: Populationand Society, ed. by Charles B. Nam, Houghton Miffin, Boston.

McDONALD, P.F. (1975), Marriage in Australia, Department of Demography, Australian National University, Canberra.

- 94-

McDonald, P.F. (1978), Nuptiality Pattern in Indonesia, A paper prepared for the Indonesian Panel of Committee on Population and Demography, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.

MALTHUS, T.R. (1958), Essay on the Principal of Population, Vol.II, Everyman's Library, Dutton, New York.

MAULDIN, W. Parker (1976), "Fertility trends 1950-1975", Studies in Family Planning, 7, pp.242-248.

MEEGAMA, S.A. (1967), "Malaria eradication and its effects on mortality levels", Population Studies, 21, pp.207-237.

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION (1956) , A Quarter Century of Agricultural and Industrial Progress in Ceylon 1930-1955, Government Press, Colombo.

MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND EMPLOYMENT (1957) , The First Interim Report, Colombo.

__________ (1962), The Short Term Implementation Program, Colombo.__________ (1971), The Five Year Plan, Colombo.MOULY, J. and E. COSTA (1974) , Employment Policies in Developing Countries,

London George Allen and Unwin.MUSHAM, H.V. (1974), "The Marriage Squeeze", Demography, 11, pp.'291-299.NADARAJAH, N. (1976), Impact of family health program on a demographic

pattern in Sri Lanka, Seminar on Family Health, Colombo, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

NATIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL (1959), The Ten Year Plan, Colombo.NICHOLAS, C. and S. PARANAVITANA (1961), A Concise History of Ceylon,

Colombo University Press, Colombo.OLIVER, Henry, M. (1957), Economic Opinion and Policy in Ceylon, Duke

University Commonwealth Studies Centre, Durham.OLUSANYA, P.0. (1969) , "Modernization and level of fertility in Western

Nigeria", Proceedings of the International Population Conference, London, pp.812-825.

POTTER, R.G. (1975), "Changes of natural fertility and contraceptive equivalents", Social Forces, 54, pp.36-51.

___________ , J.E. GÖRDEN, J. PARKER AND J.B. WYON (1965), "A case studyof birth interval dynamics", Population Studies, 19, pp.81-96.

RAGHAVAN, N.D. (1961), Karava of Ceylon, Society and Culture, K.V.G. de Silva and Sons, Colombo.

RANASINGHA, A.J. (1950), Census of Ceylon 1946, Vol.I(l), Department of Census and Statistics, Colombo.

- 95-

RAY AN , Bruce (1958), Sinhalese Village/ University of Miami Press, Coral Gables, Florida.

REGISTRAR GENERAL (1970), Report of the Registrar General of Ceylon on Vital Statistics for 1975, Government Press, Colombo.

RICHARDS, P.J. (1971), Employment and Unemployment in Ceylon, Development Centre of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,OECD Publication.

ROMANIUK, A. (1974), "Modernization and fertility : The case of the James Bay Indians", Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 11, pp.344- 359.

RYDER, N.B. (1967), "Fertility in developed countries during the twentieth century", World Population Conference 1965, VoLII, pp.105-109, U.N.

SARKAR, N.K. (1957), Demography of Ceylon, Government Press, Colombo.SMITH, Peter C. (1978), Index of nuptiality: Asia and the Pacific,

Census Forum Asia and Pacific, 5, East West Population Institute,Honolulu.

___________ (1979), Contrasting marriage patterns and fertility in SouthEast Asia, Indonesia and Philippines Compared. Seminar on Nuptiality and Fertility, Burges, 8-11 January, IUSSP.

SNODGRASS, Donald R. (1966), Ceylon an Export Economy in Transition,Economic Growth Centre, Yale University, Richard Irwin, Illinois.

__________ (1974), "Sri Lanka's Economic Development during the Twenty-FiveYears of Independence", The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies, pp.119-125, New Series, Vol.IV, No. 1 & 2, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

SWEET, James A. (1977), "Demography and Family", Annual Review of Sociology,3, pp.363-405.

TENNAKOON, M.U.A. (1972), A note on some social and economic problems of subsistance farming in rural settlement of the Dry Zone of Ceylon,Staff Studies, Central Bank of Ceylon, Colombo.

U.N. (1971), Human Fertility and National Development, New York._________ (1973) , The Determinants and Consequences of Population Trends,

Vol.I, New York._________ (1975) , Report on the World Social Situation 1974, New York.WIJESEKARA, N. (1949), People of Ceylon, M.D. Gunasena, ColomboWINIFOFF, Beverly (1978), Nutrition, Population and Health : Some Implications

of Policy, Working Paper, International Program, Population Council.

- 9 6 -

WRIGHT, N .H. ( 1 9 6 8 ) , " R e c e n t f e r t i l i t y c h a n g e s i n C e y lo n and p r o s p e c t s

f o r t h e N a t i o n a l F a m i ly P l a n n i n g P ro g ram ", D em o g rap h y , 5 , p p . 7 4 5 -7 5 6 .

____________ ( 1 9 7 0 ) , " C e y lo n , The r e l a t i o n s h i p o f d e m o g ra p h ic f a c t o r s and

m a r i t a l f e r t i l i t y t o t h e r e c e n t f e r t i l i t y dec line? ', S t u d i e s i n F a m i ly

P l a n n i n g , 5 9 , p p . 1 7 - 2 0 .

WUNSCH, G u i l l a u m e ( 1 9 7 9 ) , E f f e c t s o f c h a n g e s i n n u p t i a l i t y i n W e s te rn

E u r o p e , S e m in a r on N u p t i a l i t y an d F e r t i l i t y , B u r g e s , 8 -1 1 J a n u a r y ,

1 9 7 9 , IUSSP.

APPENDIX

Contents

Appendix to Chapter FourUnder-enumeratiom of children ever born Table A4.1, M/CD, the mean number of

children dead . by type of residence, 1971 Census, Sri Lanka

Table A4.2 , M/CD, the mean number of children dead, by ethnicity, 1971 Census,Sri Lanka

A 1 , A note on the standardization of mean number of children ever born

Table A 2 .1, Number of currently marriedfemales (15-49) by socio-economic characteristics in WZ and DZ,1971 Census, Sri LankaPercentage distribution of currently iparried f emales ( 1 5-49) in WZ and DZ by ethnicity and type of residence 1971 Census, Sri Lanka Median age at marriage of currently married females(15-49) hy age and type of residence,1971 Census Sri LankaMedian age at marriage of currently married females(15-49) by age and ethnicity, 1971 Census, Sri Lanka Median age at marriage of currently married females (15-49) by age and education, 1971 Census , Sri Lanka

Table A1

Table A2

Table A3

Table A4

Page

ii

iii

iv

v

vi

vii

viii

• ix

1

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER FOUR

UNDER-ENUMERATION OF CHILDREN EVER BORN

In this section the possibility of an under-enumeration of CEB( children ever born) at the Census will be examined. The under-enumeration may be detected to a certain extent by comparing M/CEB (mean number of CEB) with M/CNL ( mean number of children now living) per currently married female (15— +9 ) -

For this purpose M/CNL was calculated by education and age at marriage, and was standardized for marriage duration as in the case of M/CEB(d) in Chapter Four. The difference between M/CEB(d) (m /CEB standardized for marriage duration) and M/CNL(d) (m /CNL standardized for marriage duration) by type of residence is given in Table A4.1 , and by ethnicity in Table A4.2 . The difference may be treated as the mean number of children dead, M/CD, per currently married female (15-49).

In Table A4.1, by type of residence M/CD declined steadily as the number of years of schooling and age at marriage increased. Child mortality among the estate females who married early seemed to be higher than among the urban and rural females. DZ females also experienced a somewhat higher child mortality than the WZ females.

By ethnicity, in Table A4.2, the Sri Lanka Tamils had experienced the highest child mortality. The M/CD of Indian Tamils as compared with that of the Sri Lankan Tamils, seemed to be low. Therefore there seems to be a possibilty of an under-enumeration of CEB among the Indian Tamils, to a certain extent. In all'other cases there seems to be no serious under-enumeration of CEB.

TABLE A4.1ii

m /c d , t h e MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN DEAD, BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE, 1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA.

Sector Years of Schooling

WZ DZAge atLess than 20 years

marriage20 yearsandmore

Age atLess than 20 years

marriage20 yearsandmore

Urban No schooling 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.5

1-5 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.9

6-9 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.2

10 & more 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.2Rural No schooling 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.6

1-5 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.4

On 1 0 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3

10 & more 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1

Estate No schooling 0.7 0.4

1-5 0.7 0.4

6-9 0.5 0.2

10 & more * *

Note : : * N less than 20Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample,

Sri Lanka

ill

TABLE A 4.2

M/CD, THE MEAN n u m b e r o f c h i l d r e n d e a d , b y ETHNICITY, 1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA.

Ethinicity Years of ________WZ_________________DZ_______Schooling Age at marriage Age at marriage

Less 20 years Less 20 Yearsthan 20 and than 20 andyears more years more

Low Country No schooling 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.5Sinhalese1-5 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.4

Kandyan No schooling 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.6Sinhalese

1-5 0.2 0.1 0.5 0.4

Sri Lanka No schooling 1.4 1.0 0.9 0.8Tamils

1-5 * * 0.6 0.6

Indian No schooling 0.8 0.4 0.7 0.7Tamils

1-5 0.8 0.2 0.5 *

Moors No schooling 0.9 0.4 0.9 0.6

1-5 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.7

Note : * N less than 20Source : 1971 Census ol Population, 10 per cent sample,

Sri Lanka

ivA1

A NOTE ON THE STANDARDIZATION OF MEAN NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN

The technique used to standardize the observed mean number of children ever born for marriage duration in theChapter Four is as follows :(i) STANDARD POPULATION

The total currently married females (15— +9) in the two zones WZ and DZ by marriage duration

Duration of marriage (years)

Total currently married females(15-49) (number)

o-4 7,8875-9 7,43810-14 6,86615-19 6,21720 & above 12,762

Total 41,170

(ii) METHOD OF STANDARDIZATIONM/CEB(d) = Mean number of children

ever born standardized for marriage duration in age at marriage group j

5

i = 1F.i

F

M = Mean number of children ever born (observed)F = Total number of currently married females (1 5-^-9)

in the two zones.i = Marriage duration, i going from 1 to 5

(1)0-4, (2)5-9, (3)10-14, (4)15-19, (5) 20 +j = Age at marriage, j going from 1 to 5

(l)loss than 18, (2)18-19, (3)20-21, (4)22-23 (5) 24 +

V

TABLE A2.1NUMBER OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES(15-49) BY SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS IN WZ AND DZ, 1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA.

Socio-econokm WZ DZ

All 1 5 , 9 6 1 21,999Sector Urban 2,416 1 , 9 6 7

Rural 12,544 2 0 , 0 3 2

Estate 1 ,001 *Religion Buddhis t s 14,611 1 5 , 3 4 5

Hindus 648 1 ,579Muslims 4 9 7 2,877Christians and others 164 2,328

Ethnicity Low Country Sinhalese 14,492 9,442Kandyan Sinhalese 1 52 7 , 9 7 6

Sri Lanka Tamils 95 1,523Indian Tamils 6 7 3 284Moors 4 9 5 2,848

Education Not stated 4,420 7 , 5 9 6

No schooling 159 9 7 6

1-5 years of schooling 6 , 2 7 9 8 , 3 6 2

6-9 years of schooling 3 , 4 3 4 3,80810-12 years of schooling 1 ,385 1 ,297Degree or higher 284 149

Activity Employed 3,909 5,086Unemployed 9 6 0 6 5 0

Home duties 1 0 , 9 6 7 16,341others 125 111

Occupation Professional 5 0 2 332Clerical 261 2 6 3

Agricultural 3,193 4 , 5 6 8

Employment Paid employee 3,035 1,218Status Worker on own account 962 2 , 1 2 7

Unpaid Family worker 525 3,035: 1971 Censtis of Population, 10 per cent sampleSri Lanka.

Source

vi

TABLE AI .

PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES (15-^9) IN WZ AND DZ BY ETHNICITY AND TYPE OF RESIDENCE 1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

Zone Ethnicity Type of residence TotalUrban Rural Estate Per cent Number

WZ SinhaleseLow Country 14.1 84.1 1 .8 100.0 15 ,537Kandyan 22.8 70.9 6.3 100.0 158

TamilsSri Lankan 15.8 00• 68.4 100.0 95Indian 1 .3 2.2 96.5 100.0 764

Moors 65.3 34.3 0.4 100.0 534

DZ SinhaleseLow Country 9.2 90.8 * 100.0 10,226Kandyan 3.7 96.3 * 100.0 8,727

TamilsSri Lankan 16.2 83.8 * 100.0 1 ,608Indian 14.4 85.6 * 100.0 305

Moors 19.8 80.2 v * 100.0 3,010

Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sampleSri Lanka

Note : * No estate sector

vii

TABLE A2

MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES (15-49) IN WZ AND DZ BY AGE AND TYPE OF RESIDENCE 1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

Zone Age _____ Type of residenceUrban Rural Estate

1 5 - 1 9 1 7 . 4 17.5 1 7 . 4

20-24 20.1 1 9 . 8 19.125-29 21 .0 21 . 7 19.43 0 - 3 4 22.5 22.6 V8 . 7

35-39 22.9 22.2 18.44 -44 22.8 21.9 1 9 . 0

4 5 - 4 9 22.1 21.6 20.2

15-19 17.1 16.8 *20-24 18.7 18.4 *25-29 1 9 . 0 18.6 *30-34 1 9 . 6 18.6 *35-39 19.1 18.5 *40-44 19.1 18.8 *45-49 20.0 19.1 *

Note : * No estate sector: 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sampleSri Lanka

Source

viii

TABLE A 3

MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES (15-49) IN WZ AND DZ BY AGE AND ETHNICITY 1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

Zone Age EthnicitySinhalese Tamils Moors

Low KandyanCountry

Sri IndianLanka

wz 1 5 - 1 9 17.4 18.0 * 17.5 1 7 . 6

20-24 19.9 1 9 . 8 * 1 9 . 0 19.425-29 21 .8 19.9 * 18.9 19.930-34 22.5 21 .5 •* 18.7 20.435-39 22.3 19.1 * 17.5 19.440-44 22.1 20.4 * 18.5 1 9 . 6

45-49 2 1 . 7 20.7 * 19.3 20.6

DZ 15-19 17.3 1 7 . 0 1 6 . 6 16.9 1 6 . 2

20-24 1 9 . 0 18.4 17.8 18.5 1 6 . 6

25-29 1 9 . 6 18.4 18.1 18.1 16.530-34 2 0 . 1 18.3 17.7 19.4 16.435-39 1 9 . 8 18.0 18.2 18.7 16.540-44 2 0 . 3 18.3 18.2 18.8 1 6 . 8

45-49 20.4 18.6 18.4 1 9 . 2 16.9

Note : * N less than 20Source : 1971 Census of Population, 10 per cent sample

Sri Lanka.

ix

TABLE A4

MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE OF CURRENTLY MARRIED FEMALES (15-49) IN WZ AND DZ BY AGE AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTS 1971 CENSUS, SRI LANKA

Zone Age Number of years of schoolingNoSchooling 1-5 6-9 1 0 & over

WZ 15-19 17.3 17.4 17.3 18.420-24 1 9 . 0 1 9 . 6 2 0 . 1 20.725-29 2 0 . 1 2 0 . 9 2 2 . 2 24.330-34 20.3 2 1 . 8 22.7 26.433-39 2 0 . 3 21.6 23.3 28.2

-y-cf10-ct 20.3 21 .9 23.3 28.745-49 20.7 21 .7 22.6 2 7 . 0

DZ 13-19 16.4 16.9 17.1 18.1

-yCM10CM 1 7 . 8 18.2 18.2 20.423-29 1 7 . 8 18.2 19.7 2 2 . 9

30-34 18.0 18.3 1 9 . 6 24.333-39 18.1 18.5 20.3 23.44o-44 18.5 18.8 2 0 . 1 23.343-49 18.8 19.3 2 0 . 6 23.1

Source : 1971 Census of Popualtion, 10 per cent sampleSri Lanka