Changing Fertility Patterns in Poland: Urban, Suburban, and Rural Dimensions
2025-11-20
This study examines contemporary fertility patterns in Poland with a focus on differences across the rural‐urban continuum. Results reveal higher fertility rates in suburban areas than in core cities and rural districts. The study examines how total fertility rates evolve in relation to other demographic measures, such as marriage and divorce patterns, the share of births outside marriage, and the mean age of mothers at childbirth. By applying spatial autocorrelation methods, it uncovers apparent regional differences in fertility and lends support to the idea that demographic transitions often spread through diffusion processes. The total fertility rate is decomposed into tempo and quantum components. At the same time, geographically weighted regression is employed to investigate how spatial variations in fertility correlate with marriage, divorce, Nonmarital births, and maternal age. Findings shed light on the spatial differentiation of fertility and demographic change in Poland, highlighting the complex interplay between socioeconomic and geographic determinants that influence family formation and reproductive behaviour.