Fertility rate in Morocco slightly up in 2018

RABAT, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The fertility rate in Morocco slightly rose to 2.38 in 2018 from 2.21 children per woman in 2014, said a report published Thursday.

It is was a slow but continuous increase since 2010 when the fertility rate declined to 2.19 per woman, according to the report released by Morocco's High Commission for Planning (HCP).

fertility rate between 2014 and 2018 grew from 2.55 to 2.8 in rural areas, and from 2.01 to 2.12 in urban areas, it said.

Before 2010, the fertility rate in Morocco had dropped considerably since the beginning of the 1960, from 7.2 children per woman in 1962 to 3.28 in 1994, and to 2.19 in 2010, the report said.

According to the HCP, the previous decline in fertility rate was due to two main factors -- the decline in age at first marriage and the significant increase in contraception use. Enditem