Abbreviated Name:
Adolescent fertility rate
Indicator Name:
Adolescent birth rate (per 1000 women)
Domain:
Health determinants and risks / Demographic and socioeconomic determinants
Related Terms:
Fertility, women during their middle and late adolescent period (15-19 years)
Definition:
Annual number of births to women aged 15-19 years per 1,000 women in that age group. It is also referred to as the age-specific fertility rate for women aged 15-19 years.
Measurment Method:
The adolescent birth rate is generally computed as a ratio. The numerator is the number of live births to women 15 to 19 years of age, and the denominator an estimate of exposure to childbearing by women 15 to 19 years of age. The numerator and the denominator are calculated differently for civil registration, survey and census data. (a) In the case of civil registration the numerator is the registered number of live-births born to women 15 to 19 years of age during a given year, and the denominator is the estimated or enumerated population of women aged 15 to 19 years. (b) In the case of survey data, the adolescent birth rate is generally computed based on retrospective birth histories. The numerator refers to births to women that were 15 to 19 years of age at the time of the birth during a reference period before the interview, and the denominator to person-years lived between the ages of 15 and 19 years by the interviewed women during the same reference period. Whenever possible, the reference period corresponds to the five years preceding the survey. The reported observation year corresponds to the middle of the reference period. For some surveys, no retrospective birth histories are available and the estimate is based on the date of last birth or the number of births in the 12 months preceding the survey. (c) In the case of census data, the adolescent birth rate is generally computed based on the date of last birth or the number of births in the 12 months preceding the enumeration. The census provides both the numerator and the denominator for the rates. In some cases, the rates based on censuses are adjusted for under registration based on indirect methods of estimation. For some countries with no other reliable data, the own-children method of indirect estimation provides estimates of the adolescent birth rate for a number of years before the census.For a thorough treatment of the different methods of computation, see Handbook on the Collection of Fertility and Mortality Data, United Nations Publication, Sales No. E.03.XVII.11, (http://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/SeriesF/SeriesF_92E.pdf). Indirect methods of estimation are analyzed in Manual X: Indirect Techniques for Demographic Estimation, United Nations Publication, Sales No. E.83.XIII.2. (http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/Manual_X/Manual_X.htm).
Numerator:
Number of live births to women aged 15−19 years.
Denominator
Exposure to childbearing by women aged 15−19 years.
Estimation method:
For civil registration data, data on births or the adolescent birth rate are obtained from country-reported data from the United Nations Statistics Division or regional Statistics Divisions or statistical units (ESCWA, ESCAP, CARICOM, SPC). The population figures are obtained from the last revision of the United Nations Population Division World Population Prospects and only exceptionally from other sources. Survey data are obtained from national household surveys that are internationally coordinated—such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the Reproductive Health Surveys (RHS), and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)—and other nationally-sponsored surveys. Other national surveys conducted as part of the European Fertility and Family Surveys (FFS) or the Pan-Arab Project for Family Health (PAPFAM) may be considered as well. The data are taken from published survey reports or, in exceptional cases, other published analytical reports. Whenever the estimates are available in the survey report, they are directly taken from it. If clarification is needed, contact is made with the survey sponsors or authoring organization, which occasionally may supply corrected or adjusted estimates in response. In other cases, if microdata are available, estimates are produced by the Population Division based on national data.
Disaggregation:
Age and age group 10–14 years, education, geographic location, marital status, number of living children, socioeconomic status and other categories (depending on the data source and number of observations)
Primary data sources:
Civil registration with complete coverage
Alternate data sources:
Household surveys, population census
Measurment frequency:
Annually CRVS data with 90% coverage
Population based survey are implemented 3-5 years
Population based survey are implemented 3-5 years