Family size – demography
- Although family size generally refers to the total number of individuals in a family, from a demographic perspective, it refers to the number of total number of children borne to a woman at a point of time
- Completed family size refers to the total number of children born to her during her child bearing age – generally considered to be 15-45 years of age
- The family size depends on various factors like:
- Age at marriage
- Duration of marriage
- Level of education
- Economic status
- Prevailing social and cultural practices
- Desired family size
- Use of family planning techniques
- The family size is an indicator of the level of development of the population
- The family generally higher in developing countries and vice versa
