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Ministry of Health
TABLE 3
TRENDS OF TOTAL FERTILITY RATES
BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1950-1998

  Rate   Rate
Year B.C. Canada Year B.C. Canada
1950 3,074 3,438 1975 1,682 1,871
1951 3,201 3,487 1976 1,618 1,820
1952 3,327 3,631 1977 1,636 1,801
1953 3,542 3,712 1978 1,620 1,751
1954 3,656 3,822 1979 1,721 1,757
1955 3,748 3,823 1980 1,716 1,738
1956 3,875 3,853 1981 1,718 1,699
1957 3,921 3,923 1982 1,749 1,687
1958 3,900 3,881 1983 1,751 1,675
1959 3,958 3,941 1984 1,781 1,684
1960 3,949 3,904 1985 1,642 1,673
1961 3,785 3,852 1986 1,602 1,662
1962 3,709 3,769 1987 1,598 1,647
1963 3,564 3,683 1988 1,636 1,692
1964 3,284 3,515 1989 1,638 1,768
1965 2,710 3,157 1990 1,673 1,863
1966 2,442 2,821 1991 1,653 1,699
1967 2,307 2,601 1992 1,642 1,710
1968 2,228 2,459 1993 1,636 1,658
1969 2,223 2,409 1994 1,637 1,663
1970 2,185 2,336 1995 1,602 1,639
1971 1,994 2,188 1996 1,539 1,624
1972 1,890 2,025 1997 1,475 1,552
1973 1,751 1,939 1998 1,432 *
1974 1,735 1,887      

Note: Total Fertility Rate - Sum of age-specific fertility rates multiplied by the number of years in each age group (see glossary for definition). B.C. rates per 1,000 women age 15 to 44. Canadian rates, from Statistics Canada, are per 1,000 women age 15 to 49. *1998 rate for Canada was not available. Non-residents are excluded.

FIGURE 5
TRENDS OF TOTAL FERTILITY RATES
BRITISH COLUMBIA AND CANADA, 1950 - 1998 CHART, TRENDS OF NATURAL POPULATION INCREASES

HIGHLIGHTS TO TABLE 3/FIGURE 5

  • In 1998, the province's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) was 1,432 births per 1,000 women of child bearing age (15 to 44 years of age). For the second year in a row, the provincial TFR was below 1,500 and was about one third of the highest TFR rate of 3,958 in 1959.

  • After peaking in the late-1950s, the B.C. and Canadian TFRs fell considerably throughout the next two decades. Except for the period 1981 to 1984, the B.C. rates have been below Canadian TFRs for more than three decades.