Fertility of Turkish Migrants in Germany: Duration of Stay Matters

Katharina Wolf, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

This study examines the fertility behavior of male and female Turkish migrants in Germany. Our main objective is to investigate the role of duration since migration in first and higher order birth risks. We use data from the first wave of the German Generations and Gender Survey (2005/06). First, the age-specific fertility rates and the total fertility rates are estimated and compared for the German and the Turkish respondents following a method suggested by Toulemon (2004). Second, discrete-time hazard rate models are calculated. We find strongly elevated birth risks among the Turkish respondents in the years immediately following migration. Furthermore, we find that migrants who arrived to Germany during young adulthood have significantly higher birth rates than other migrants. We conclude that the fertility of Turkish migrants in Germany is strongly associated with their migration history and both the age at migration and the duration of stay should be considered.