December 19, 2012 | Defo News

Who still dares to marry?

The new issue (Nr. 04/2012) of "Demografische Forschung Aus Erster Hand", the popular science newsletter with latest research results from demography, has been released. (The Newsletter is available in German only.)

Half a child less
Modern families: Birthrates are sinking with separation and change of partner
Separation rates in many highly developed countries have steeply increased in the last decades, whereas birth rates have often declined. Taking France as a case in point, a study by the Vienna Institute of Demography demonstrates that the two developments are related: When non-marital or marital cohabitation is working well, the average number of children born to a woman increases by 0.3 to 0.5.

Population: France is growing, Germany is shrinking
In the future, Germany is likely to have less inhabitants than its western neighbor.
The current situation seems clear: Germany has about 20 million more people than France. The population east of the River Rhine will shrink in the coming years, but the number of French people will continually rise to overtake its neighbor by 2055, so UN forecasts say. 

Who still dares to marry?
Marriage and non-marital cohabitation in France and Germany
Not long ago, those who wanted to live with a partner had to tie the knot first – something, men and women of today very rarely do. Just the contrary, marriage is often preceded by so-called non-marital cohabitation. At least in Germany. In France, by contrast, more and more people are never getting married, so Katja Köppen found out.

"Demografische Forschung Aus Erster Hand" is a joint publication of the Max Planck Institute for demographic Research (MPIDR), the Rostocker Zentrum zur Erforschung des Demografischen Wandels (RZ) and the Vienna Institute of Demography (VID). The newsletter is released four times a year and is available electronically and as a printed version and is free of charge.

All past issues are available online on the Newsletter website. On the website you also have the possibility to subscribe to the Newsletter to get informed about the release of the new issues or to receive the printed versions by mail.