Back to Home pageCzech Republic (Prague) 39
DEMOGRAFIE
1995 - VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3
97.39.1 - Czech - Jitka RYCHTARIKOVA
Nuptiality of single people in the Czech Republic - now and then (Snatecnost svobodnych c Cesk? republice drive a dnes) (p. 157-172)
Trends in the nuptiality of single people in the Czech Republic can be split into three phases. Firstly, from the time of the Second World War to the early 1960s, it followed the same lines as general European trends : more than 90% of single people got married and the age at first marriage declined. During the next phase, up until 1989, slight short-term fluctuations in nuptiality were observed due to measures introduced to encourage marriage and / or to the general demographic climate. At this time, the Czech population was beginning to stand out from many of the developed countries where, towards the 1970s, the intensity of nuptiality began to decline and average age at first marriage began to increase. Since 1992, through the behaviour of the "second baby boom" generations of the 1970s, the Czech Republic has, in turn, undergone a decline in intensity of marriage and an increase in the average age at marriage. (CZECH REPUBLIC, NUPTIALITY, FIRST MARRIAGE)
97.39.2 - Czech - Vladimir POLASEK and Miloslav POSPISIL
Population distribution in the Czech Republic according to place of birth (Obyvatelstvo Cesk? republiky podle mista bydliste pri narozeni) (p. 173-183)
For the first time since the Second World War, on the occasion of the 1991 census, the inhabitants of the Czech Republic were asked to name their place of birth. Comparing this information with the actual place of birth made it possible to estimate the population's mobility over its life cycle. It would appear that people are more loyal to their birthland (community or district) in Moravia than they are in Bohemia, no matter their sex or age. The proportion of people born in Slovakia is somewhat higher in Moravia than in Bohemia, but it is not particularly high in the districts lying close to Slovakia. On the other hand, there is definitely a link between the concentration of people originally from a neighbouring country (except for Slovakia) and the distance to the border with this country. The most sedentary of populations lies in the South-east corner of Moravia and on the plateaux of Bohemia-Moravia; the least sedentary people are to be found in the border districts to the North of Moravia and the North-west and West of Czechia. (CZECH REPUBLIC, POPULATION CENSUS, PLACE OF BIRTH, MIGRATION)
97.39.3 - Czech - Antonin SIPEK
Malignant tumours amongst children. Part I (Maligni nadory u deti v Cesk? republice v obdobi let 1960-1990. I. cast) (p. 184-192)
The present article is dedicated to an in-depth study of the frequency of malignant tumours amongst children in the Czech Republic from 1960 to 1990. The data from the records on malignant tumours, held for many years now by the Prague Institute for Maternal and Child Health, are provided by the Child Pathology Units of the hospitals and Czech cancer records. 7,547 cases have been recorded. The data are broken down by type of tumour, specific demographic variables and various characteristics of family background (region, mother's age, father's age, pregnancy order, birth order). It is noted that malignant tumours are becoming more and more frequent amongst children. The highlighting of a maximum frequency at a given age and of an increasing risk of tumours amongst the parents (especially for mothers) over the age of thirty provides important pointers for prevention campaigns. (CZECH REPUBLIC, CANCER, MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH)
97.39.4 - Czech - Luba KRALOVA
Comments on cohabitation in the framework of the French school of sociology and demography (Reflexia o kohabitacii na pozadi frankofonnej sociologie a demografie) (p. 193-199)
In the late 1960s and during the 1970s, a wide-ranging protest movement, led by Western European youth, opened the way for the arrival of a new phenomenon, one which had already spread through Northern Europe in the 1930s - cohabitation. The concept of "cohabitation" was introduced into family sociology by Louis Roussel in 1978 as the fact of a man and a woman living together without being married and possibly having children together.
The author introduces the reader to the concepts of cohabitation and youth cohabitation and describes the historical rise of the phenomenon in Western Europe. She also raises the issue of identifying cohabiting couples. Characterizing consensual unions according to family and social type makes it easier to understand the relationship between cohabitation and female social mobility. In comparison with married couples, cohabiting partners show more flexibility in the sharing of household tasks, without conferring any particular role on any particular sex. Finally, the author believes that cohabitation is the form of communal life which is best adapted to the late 20th century. (WESTERN EUROPE, COHABITATION, SOCIOLOGY)
1995 - VOLUME 37, NUMBER 4
97.39.5 - Czech - Jirina RUZKOVA and Milan ALES
Demographic trends in the Czech Republic in 1994 (Populacni vyvoj v Cesk? republice v roce 1994) (p. 237-253)
In 1994, population numbers in the Czech Republic declined for the first time since 1950. Less births were registered than deaths and the slight increase in migration did not suffice to compensate for this difference. The number of births had not been so low since 1785 and its decline, compared to the previous year, was the most notable since 1945. The total fertility rate dropped from 1.72 in 1993 to 1.44 in 1994. If it continues at this pace, the Czech Republic could soon be counted amongst the least fertile countries in Europe. At the same time, a dramatic decline in nuptiality and an increase in the average age at marriage have been observed. On the other hand, mortality has also continued to decline and average life expectancy has continued to increase slowly. Infant and neonatal mortality have practically fallen to the same level as Western Europe. The decline in induced abortions is proof of the progressive spread of modern contraceptive methods. All of these trends means an important qualitative change for the Czech poulation : the demographic dynamics which were characteristic of countries with a planned economy have been abandoned, while the dynamics of a liberal society have not yet taken their place. (CZECH REPUBLIC, POPULATION SITUATION, TRANSITIONAL SOCIETY)
97.39.6 - Czech - Michal TIRPAK and Frantisek ADAMICA
Population trends in the Slovak Republic in 1994 (Populacny vyvoj v Slovenkej republike v roku 1994) (p. 254-266)
The authors present a summary of the main demographic characteristics of the Slovak population. By 1994, the birth rate had declined (12.4?), as had the total fertility rate (1.66) and reproduction rates. Consequently, the share of children within the population's age structure is declining while those of people of economically active ages and the elderly are increasing. While the gross mortality rate has been declining since 1991, it can be noted that the mortality rate for males aged from 30 to 54 is 2.8 times higher than women's in the same age group. (SLOVAKIA, POPULATION SITUATION)
Twenty-fifth conference of the Czech Demographic Society: "Population trends in the world today" (XXV. demograficka konference CDS "Soucasny populacni vyvoj sveta") (p. 267-287)
Interest in world population trends can be justified by the fact that the pace of growth is still quite rapid and this was reinforced by the Cairo Conference in 1994. It is the current demographic transition in the developing countries which is the main reason behind world population growth and it will no doubt not come to an end until somewhere in the middle of the next century. It would appear that the cultural differences between countries and peoples only lead to creating slight differences in a process of world-wide ranging demographic revolution. Demographic trends in the post-transitional period lead to numerous questions on the future of the family, the place of women in society, etc. The conference discussed all of these complex and varied issues. (CZECH REPUBLIC, WORLD POPULATION, CONFERENCES)
1996 - VOLUME 38, NUMBER 2
97.39.8 - Czech - Jitka RYCHTARIKOVA
The cultural transformation of population reproduction in the Czech Republic - International comparisons (Soucasn? zmeny charakteru reprodukce v Cesk? republice a mezinarodni situace) (p. 77-89)
After the Second World War, trends in nuptiality and fertility ran along parallel lines in all the developed countries, in spite of the diversity of political regimes. Age at marriage and age at childbirth declined everywhere, but certain peculiarities could be noted in the Socialist countries, such as lower fertility until the mid-1960s and an early adoption of legislation on abortion. From the mid-1960s up until the 1990s, there were hardly any changes in fertility and nuptiality in the countries of Eastern Europe while, in Western countries, the decline in fertility and nuptiality was very marked, with an increase in ages at marriage and childbirth. Today, there is a noticeale decline in the total fertility and nuptiality rates in all of the previously Communist countries, independently of the state of progress in terms of economic reform. But we cannot yet speak of "second demographic transition" for this is, above all, a response to exogenous constraints such as the stupendous rise in rents and feelings of insecurity and anxiety, which would appear to have contributed to the appearance of new family strategies. (CZECH REPUBLIC, POPULATION SITUATION, TRANSITIONAL SOCIETY, NUPTIALITY, FERTILITY)
97.39.9 - Czech - Ludmila FIALOVA
The demographic status of children in the Czech Republic during the 1980s (Demografie o detech v Cesk? republice v 80. letech) (p. 90-104)
According to the 1991 census, the demographic status of children in the Czech Republic presents the following characteristics : the child is born into a united family; generally speaking, it has a brother or sister; its parents were under the age of 30 at the birth of their first child; the mother works; more and more often, the child will experience the divorce of its parents and enter into a new family through one or other of the parents remarrying; it has grandparents, but does not live with them. Children will live with their parents until two or three years after finishing their schooling and career training, or until the age of 24.5 years for males and 21.5 years for females. The child's position within the family has been weakened over recent decades. While, up until the 1970s, the parents maintained family unity as long as their children were minors, the case is no longer the same today. The increase in the number of illegitimate births would even indicate that a proportion of the population now considers that marriage is no longer a pre-requisite for having children. (CZECH REPUBLIC, CHILDREN, PARENTS, FAMILY COMPOSITION, MARRIAGE)
97.39.10 - Czech - Jaroslav KRAUS, Ivan TOMEK and Petr VELEBIL
Results of research on health and reproduction in the Czech Republic, 1993. Part I (Vysledky pruzkumu reprodukce a zdravi, CR 1993. 1. cast) (p. 105-120)
The authors present the results of their research into natality and family planning. They have measured various parameters such as age-specific fertility rates, total fertility rate, median age at the birth of their first child, knowledge of contraceptive methods and their reasons for either using or not using the latter. It is obvious that a certain proportion of women require better developed family planning services. The article also deals with less reliable contraceptive techniques, sterilisation and abortion. (CZECH REPUBLIC, FERTILITY MEASUREMENTS, FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMMES)
1996 - VOLUME 38, NUMBER 3
97.39.11 - Czech - Vladimir SRB
Naturalizations and false declarations of nationality in Czechoslovakia according to the censuses held from 1950 to 1991 (Asimilace a preklaneni narodnosti obyvatelstva v Ceskoslovensku ve svetle scitani lidu 1950-1991) (p. 157-164)
The annual nationality-specific demographic balance makes it easy to measure the number of naturalizations and false declarations of nationality, by comparing them with the censuses. The author presents the numbers of various nationalities counted in the Czechoslovakian censuses from 1950 to 1991, their inter-censal growth rates and the variations between the figures in the censuses and the inter-censal balances. He also breaks down the development of each nationality into natural growth, net migration, naturalizations and false declarations of nationality. He concludes with an analysis of the motives for naturalization at various periods over the time studied, in both Czechia and Slovakia. (CZECHOSLOVAKIA, NATIONALITY, NATURALIZATION, DEMOGRAPHIC ACCOUNTING)
Family building from the 16th to the 18th century (Studium historick?ho utvareni rodiny v 16. az 18. stoleti) (p. 165-172)
The recent works of Ms M. Seligova and Ms I. Sedlackova have somewhat changed our preconceptions of family building in Bohemia in the 17th century. They found less than one per cent of the households to contain several families, which would indicate that the rule of neo-local residency was much more prevalent in Bohemia than in other regions. In the same way, the age structure of family members is very close to what was observed in Western Europe. Given the frequency of family artisanat in the region under study and the agricultural nature of the population, the thesis of H. Medick, for whom proto-industrialization is related to the decline in the age at marriage, is not verified for Bohemia. The author believes that the explanatory factors are rather of the ethnic variety. (CZECHOSLOVAKIA, HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY, FAMILY FORMATION, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION)
97.39.13 - Czech - Ladislav RABUSIC
Marriage and family in the Czech Republic in the mid-1990s (O soucasnem vyvoji manzelsk?ho a rodinn?ho chovani v Cesk? republice) (p. 173-180)
The author studies the most recent trends in marriage and the family in the Czech Republic. The changes are wide-ranging compared to the situation prior to 1989. Using the sociological theory of modernity, the author believes that the decline in the nuptiality and fertility rates, the increase in age at first marriage and the increase in the rate of illegitimate births are normal - and even necessary - characteristics of modern democratic societies. In the demographic field, as in the social and economic fields, the Czech population began to adopt the same behavioural patterns as developed in Western Europe from the 1960s onwards: the changes observed with regard to marriage and fertility are, therefore, indicators of the normal development of Czech society. There is no family crisis, as has been too often suggested, but a logical and healthy development. (CZECH REPUBLIC, POPULATION SITUATION, NUPTIALITY, FERTILITY, TRANSITIONAL SOCIETY)
97.39.14 - Czech - Jaroslav KRAUS, Ivan TOMEK and Petr VELEBIL
Results of research on health and reproduction in the Czech Republic, 1993. Part II (Vysledky pruzkumu reprodukce a zdravi, CR 1993. 2. cast) (p. 181-193)
This is the second article dedicated to the results of the Survey on Health and Reproduction in the Czech Republic in 1993, and which deals, more specifically, with the health of the pregnant woman, the sexual behaviour of young women and attitudes towards health. Women who gave birth between 1988 and 1993 were interviewed with regard to health issues which they had been faced with during their last pregnancy. In a separate section dealing with the sexual life of females aged from 15 to 24, data were collected on age at first sexual encounter and various other information on contraception and possible pre-marital pregnancies. A series of questions covered knowledge and attitude of women with regard to reproduction and health (the woman's role in reproduction, induced abortion, oral contraception). 85% of the women interviewed said they were for the liberalization of abortion no matter the reason and, in all social strata of the survey, a large majority was opposed to any restriction being placed on this women's right. On this point, there was very little difference noted between the ages, family status or area of residence. The most highly educated and the wealthiest women were the most favourable towards the right to abortion and, even amongst practising Catholics, 70% believe that there should be no conditions attached to the right to abort. (CZECH REPUBLIC, WOMEN, MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH, SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR, CONTRACEPTION, INDUCED ABORTION)
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