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NepalFertility and Mortality
According to the estimates made by the Central Bureau
of
Statistics in 1985, the crude birthrate was 44 per 1,000,
and the
crude death rate was almost 14 per 1,000. The total
fertility rate,
defined as the average number of children a woman might
bear, was
6.3 children, with a variation between rural and urban
fertility
rates. The rural total fertility rate was 6.4, compared
with 5.8
for urban areas. Both the crude birthrate and the total
fertility
rate have remained high and fairly constant for the past
several
decades, whereas the crude death rate has been declining
consistently, thereby contributing to rapid population
growth.
The most significant category of deaths was the infant
mortality rate. Varying techniques for calculating infant
mortality, however, have led to discrepant estimations.
They ranged
from more than 147 deaths per 1,000 in 1985 to between 101
and 128
per 1,000 in 1989. Infant mortality rates also varied
widely among
the three geographic regions, which may have been partly
because of
differing rates of migration and the expectancy that
higher
mortality rates are found in migrant families.
Nonetheless, infant
mortality was almost twice as high in rural areas as urban
areas,
a clear indication of the lack of health services in rural
areas,
and was high compared to many other Asian countries
(see Health-Care Facilities
, this ch.).
Data as of September 1991
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