Estimating kinship networks is a data-intensive undertaking, usually conducted using empirical sources or demographic models. Although empirical data, such as population registers, provide observed...

This article examines the fertility downturn in Sweden from 2010 to 2024 from a cohort perspective, in contrast to the period-based analyses that have dominated most research on the current decline. Using fertility data from the Human Fertility Database, I analyze the childbearing of Swedish women born in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s across their observed life courses. The analysis compares cohort fertility schedules by age, period, and cohort, contrasts the 2010-2024 decline with the downturn of 1995-2002, and uses a basic freeze-rate approach to update earlier cohort forecasts for younger cohorts. The results show that the recent sharp fall in period fertility was only moderately reflected in cohort fertility up through the 1980s cohorts, whose fertility remained relatively close to that of women born in the 1970s. By contrast, women born in the 1990s, and especially the late-1990s cohorts, have accumulated markedly fewer first births by young adult ages. Much of the current decline is driven mainly by missing and postponed first births among the 1990s cohorts. The eventual completed fertility of women now in their twenties will therefore depend heavily on the extent of later recuperation. One cannot yet say if the 2010s fertility decline will lead to a marked reduction in cohort fertility in Sweden.

Sveriges befolkning väntas öka enligt nya prognoser från SCB.

The original report claimed a rise in young people attending church in England and Wales.

En mindre medlemsökning i Svenska kyrkan förklaras i huvudsak av tonåringar som går runt konfirmationen – den är inget stöd för en religiös ungdomstrend.

Forskaren Martin Kolk granskar påståendet om en religiös återkomst bland unga i Sverige.

Sverige har idag de lägsta födelsetalen sedan 1751 och regeringen har tillsatt en utredning för att svara på varför. Men även runt om i världen sjunker födelsetalen. Handlar det om politik, teknik, in...

DN Debatt. I takt med att barnafödandet minskar bör barnbidraget höjas och göras skattepliktigt, skriver Martin Kolk, docent i demografi.

Det låga barnafödandet i Sverige gäckar regeringen, som nu har tillsatt en utredning. Men utredningens problemformulering ifrågasätts av demografiforskaren Martin Kolk. ”Personligen tycker jag inte at...

The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock is one of the leading demographic research centers in the world. At the MPIDR, researchers from all over the world investigate demo...

Parentalization, or becoming a parent and being legally and socially recognized as such, has long been constrained for sexual minorities. Although many studies have examined the outcomes of children o...

Environmental concerns may influence personal fertility decisions and general opinions about childbearing and population, but research on this topic is still relatively scarce. In two studies based on...