Fertility Trends among Overseas Indian Populations.

As there has been a long tradition of Indian emigration to overseas countries, a study of the fertility trends of Indian communities overseas can provide an interesting illustration of the adaptation of migrants' fertility behaviour to new economic and social conditions. In this paper, statistics relating to the fertility of a number of overseas Indian communities are brought together, and it is shown that during the 1950s and 1960s the fertility of these communities tended to be higher than in the areas from which the migrants originated, but that it declined more quickly during the last 20 years and is now generally lower than in the areas of origin. The significance of these findings is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]