KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Reproductive Health Survey (RHS) in Jamaica says total fertility rate (TFR) has declined significantly from 4.5 births per female between 1973 and 1975 to 1.9 in 2021, contributing to a decrease in the country’s population estimate.

According to a release on Sunday, the RHS findings from 2021 were officially disseminated to the public by the National Family Planning Board (NFPB) at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on Friday, February 9.

“Age specific fertility rates fell in all age groups except 25-29 years and probably reflects a delayed start to childbearing into their late 20s, while women completed their education,” said Sexual and Reproductive Health and Epidemiology Expert, Professor Affette McCaw-Binns.

The TFR is the average number of children that is expected to be born to a woman over her lifetime.

Professor McCaw-Binns explained that a fertility rate of 1.9 is below the replacement level of 2.1, which is the average number of children that a woman would need to produce to keep the population constant. She noted that in 1983 when the National Population Policy was developed, it included the goal of achieving replacement level fertility by providing high quality family planning services.

RHS 2021 was a household survey of 3, 224 females and 1,784 males of reproductive age, 15- 49 years, with data collected between August 2021 and April 2022. Forty-six per cent of the respondents were resident in rural areas, 32 per cent were in urban centres outside of the Kingston Metropolitan Region (KMR) and 22 per cent were domiciled within the KMR.

Sixty-one per cent of participants were in a union (married, common-law or visiting relationship) while 39 per cent were not.

The objectives of the survey included: assessing progress toward replacement-level fertility and its contribution to population growth; providing input to Jamaica’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policies, plans, programmes and projects; and producing evidence-based SRH data to update the status of infant and child mortality, gender-based violence, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS knowledge attitude and practice, total fertility, contraceptive use, reproductive health, and maternal and child health care.