IMMEDIATE RELEASE MONDAY, APRIL 29, 1996 Public Information Office CB96-72 301-457-3030 301-457-4067 (TDD) Tom McDevitt 301-457-1371 OVER 300 MILLION BIRTHS TO ADOLESCENTS EXPECTED IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES OVER NEXT 25 YEARS, CENSUS BUREAU PROJECTS In developing countries of the world, each year about 13 million babies are born to adolescent women ages 15 to 19. In fact, it is expected that between 1995 and 2020 there will be over 300 million births to these adolescent mothers, according to a new report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau entitled, "Trends in Adolescent Fertility and Contraceptive Use in the Developing World" (IPC/95-1). According to the report, in the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 13 percent of all children are born to adolescent women. "These are high-risk births because babies born to adolescents are more likely to have low birth weight, be premature, have birth injuries, or be stillborn," says Tom McDevitt, the report's author. Although there has been some decline in adolescent fertility rates in developing countries during the past 10 to 15 years, the decline is offset by increases in the numbers of women ages 15-19. The report focuses on four factors that influence adolescent childbearing--residence, educational attainment, age at first marriage, and contraceptive use. The report indicates that the use of modern methods of family planning by adolescent women has risen in most countries of the developing world during the past 10 to 15 years. At the same time, 15 to 45 percent of married adolescent women in Africa, Asia and Latin America report that they want to postpone or stop having children, but are not using contraception. Other highlights of the report include: - Survey data show that in developing countries, the proportion of adolescents having babies is highest in countries with high proportions of women with no formal education. - About 24 percent of rural women ages 15-19 in the developing world have begun childbearing, compared with 16 percent of urban adolescent women.-X-Editor's note: media representatives may obtain a copy of the report from the Census Bureau's Public Information Office on 301-457-3030; fax: 301-457-3670; or e-mail: pio@census.gov. Other orders should be directed to the bureau's Fastfax on 1-900-555-2Fax (there is a nominal fee); Customer Services Branch on 301-763-INFO(4636) or fax: 301-457-3842.
