The effect of educational attainment on birthrate in Japan: an analysis using the census and the vital statistics from 2000 to 2020.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100967799 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2393 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712393 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Pregnancy Childbirth Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-

Birth Rate* ; Censuses*; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Educational Status ; Japan/epidemiology ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Middle Aged

Background: In Japan, difference in birth rates depending on educational attainment has not been investigated. This study aimed to reveal birth rates in Japan depending on the highest level of educational attainment and their trends over the years using nationwide government statistics data.
Methods: Individual-level data from Vital Statistics and the Census from 2000, 2010, and 2020 were used for birth and population data, respectively. Data linkage was conducted for males and females in the Census and fathers and mothers in the Vital Statistics using information about gender, household, nationality, marital status, birth year, birth month, prefecture, and municipality for individuals. The birth rate was calculated by gender, a five-year age group, the highest level of educational attainment achieved, and year. In addition, the slope index of inequality (SII) and relative index of inequality (RII) were calculated to evaluate the degree of inequality in birth rates, depending on the educational attainment.
Results: Birth rates were higher in persons with lower educational attainment compared to those with a higher educational attainment among males and females in their twenties, while they tended to be higher in persons with higher educational attainment among those in their thirties and forties. Additionally, an increase in the birth rate from 2000 to 2020 was the largest in university graduates among males aged 25-49 years and women aged 30-49 years, and a decrease in the birth rate was the smallest in university graduates among males and females aged 20-24 years. As a result, SII and RII increased from 2000 to 2020 among males and females in their thirties and forties.
Conclusions: In conclusion, persons with higher educational attainment tended to have a relatively favorable trend in the birth rate compared with persons with lower educational attainment in recent decades. It suggested that enhanced administrative support for individuals with lower educational attainment or lower socioeconomic status may be required to ameliorate the declining birth rate in Japan.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)

Eur J Popul. 2020 Aug 10;37(1):263-295. (PMID: 33597840)
BMC Public Health. 2021 Apr 21;21(1):763. (PMID: 33882875)
Demogr Res. 2021 Jan-Jun;44:941-978. (PMID: 34054341)
Children (Basel). 2023 Feb 09;10(2):. (PMID: 36832471)
Asian Popul Stud. 2013 May 1;9(2):196-215. (PMID: 24883076)
PLoS One. 2020 Sep 28;15(9):e0239866. (PMID: 32986786)
BMC Public Health. 2020 Feb 22;20(1):265. (PMID: 32087705)
Stat Med. 2014 Feb 28;33(5):721-37. (PMID: 24114884)
BMJ Glob Health. 2022 May;7(5):. (PMID: 35569835)
BMC Public Health. 2019 May 30;19(1):662. (PMID: 31146708)
J Biosoc Sci. 2017 Nov;49(S1):S20-S45. (PMID: 29160188)
J Epidemiol Community Health. 2018 Jan;72(1):68-70. (PMID: 29101216)
BMC Public Health. 2021 Dec 14;21(1):2280. (PMID: 34906129)
PLoS One. 2022 May 4;17(5):e0268006. (PMID: 35507569)
Lancet. 2020 Oct 17;396(10258):1285-1306. (PMID: 32679112)
PLoS One. 2022 Apr 27;17(4):e0266835. (PMID: 35476638)
Eur J Popul. 2022 Feb 7;38(1):125-161. (PMID: 35370527)
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 20;19(6):. (PMID: 35329383)

JP22K17372 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Keywords: Birth rate; Educational attainment; Japan; Vital statistics

Date Created: 20240315 Date Completed: 20240318 Latest Revision: 20240422

20250114

PMC10938742

10.1186/s12884-024-06382-6

38486147