The Impact of Marriage on the Fertility Level – The Case of North Macedonia

Abstract

The marriage behavior, i.e., the number of marriages and divorces with all the characteristics of the marring and divorcing couples, along with the fertility level, represent a challenge of studying in the field of population geography because of their great impact in certain segments of the demographic development. This research analyzes the number of marriages and divorces, all of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the marriage behavior, as well as the number of children born within the framework of the marital union, or children born outside marriage. Fertility, the dynamics in the fertility rates, and the impact of marriage on the fertility level were also analyzed, due to their significant role in a society like ours. The impact of marriage on the fertility level was confirmed by testing the hypotheses set at the beginning of the research. The testing of the one null hypothesis "the marriage behavior has no impact on the fertility level" and the three auxiliary hypotheses were done using the method of linear regression. By testing these hypotheses, a significant scientific fact has been pointed, on which the demographic development in the country should be further based, i.e. one of the foundations in creating family policies.