Effect of Wealth on Marital Fertility in Sri Lanka (Survey‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Since the 1960s, a substantial decline in birth rate in Sri Lanka has been evident. By the mid-1980s, the total fertility rate (TFR) in Sri Lanka had declined to 2.8 children per woman-one of the lowest fertility levels in a less-developed country at that time (1). These low levels of fertility are due to late marriage and high rates of contraceptive use compared to other less-developed countries. The decline in fertility in Sri Lanka reflects both a move toward higher ages at marriage and a decline in marital fertility, with rising use of contraception being the major proximate determinant of the latter (1-3).