• Vienna Institute of Demography (Ed.) - Éva Beaujouan - Marie-Caroline Compans - Alice Goisis - Jasmin Passet-Wittig (Guest Eds.)

Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2026

Special issue: Delayed reproduction

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The Vienna Yearbook of Population Research is an open access journal that features contributions addressing population trends as well as a broad range of theoretical and methodological issues in population research. Besides Research articles and Review articles, the journal includes Data and Trends contributions, which analyse changes in population dynamics or present databases and data infrastructure. It also features Perspectives articles, which focus on ideas, concepts or theories, as well as invited Debates reflecting on selected questions and issues. Since 2008, the volumes have been devoted to selected themes following special calls for thematic issues.

The 2026 volume of the Vienna Yearbook of Population Research brings together a diverse set of contributions examining delayed reproduction as a defining feature of contemporary demographic change. The papers explore how later transitions to parenthood reshape reproductive trajectories, fertility intentions and birth outcomes for individuals and societies. Particular emphasis is placed on heterogeneities and inequalities by educational background, migration status, and place of residence. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches and drawing on data from Europe, the Americas, and Asia, the issue highlights that delayed reproduction is a lasting trend with significant consequences for future fertility and societies more broadly.
Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2
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Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2026
ISSN 1728-4414
Print Edition
ISSN 1728-5305
Online Edition
ISBN 978-3-7001-5156-2
Print Edition
ISBN 978-3-7001-5157-9
Online Edition



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Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2,
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400
https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: bestellung.verlag@oeaw.ac.at
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Two paths to smaller families: Socioeconomic and urban–rural disparities in delayed first birth in China and implications for an ageing society

    Xueqing Wang, Leng Seong Che

Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2026, pp. , 2026/04/22

Special issue: Delayed reproduction

doi: 10.1553/p-m8bg-h6pj


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doi:10.1553/p-m8bg-h6pj


Abstract

China’s fertility transition produced two distinct demographic pathways to smaller families: one driven by delayed childbearing, and the other by direct limits on family size. Using data from the 2011–2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we examine cohorts whose reproductive years unfolded under successive fertility policy regimes, from pre-policy to one-child policy periods. Kitagawa decomposition shows that delayed first births account for 22% of urban–rural differences but only 10% of educational differences in completed fertility, indicating that urban and rural populations reached similarly small families through different mechanisms. These timing patterns have enduring consequences: when today’s older adults reach age 80, the children of urban and highly educated parents are 2–3 years younger than those of rural and less educated parents, with delayed first birth explaining over half of the educational gap in eldercare timing. The findings reveal a previously overlooked dimension of inequality: namely, that as China ages, differences in first birth timing have created disparities in who has children available to provide care, and when.

Keywords: Delayed fertility; Socioeconomic gradient; Urban–rural divide; China; Population ageing

Published Online: 2026/04/22

Object Identifier: 0xc1aa5572 0x00418187

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Rights: © The Author(s), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2026. This article/book is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) that allows the sharing, use and adaptation in any medium, provided that the user gives appropriate credit, provides a link to the license, and indicates if changes were made.