KIWU II

Demographic research has repeatedly found urban-rural differences in fertility. In Europe, cities are usually characterized by lower fertility rates, a higher age of mothers at (first) birth, and a higher proportion of late fertility than rural regions. Previous analyses of childbearing intentions, however, indicate that they are not lower in cities than in rural areas. The desired number of children in rural regions in Austria, for instance, has gradually converged to the initially lower number of desired children in urban areas during the last decades. However, the number of children women desire is usually higher in European countries than the realized number of children. The realization of existing childbearing intentions is also more likely in rural regions than in urban regions. In cities, the realization of existing desires to have children is more often postponed or abandoned.

Against this background, the KIWU II project explores urban-rural differences in the realisation of the self-reported desired number of children in Austria. Combining Austrian Microcensus data with individual level register data, it specifically examines the relevance of the urban context for the realisation of childbearing desires and the role of differences in urban and rural populations for urban-rural differences in the realisation. Analyses particularly focus on regional comparisons within Austria, Vienna as the country’s capital and only major European city in Austria, and women age 30+; as late motherhood is becoming increasingly important in general and especially in cities.