Mikrocensus 1986, 2. quarter: Birth-Biography

This survey in not only on the current situation regarding children, marriage, family and employment but also and especially on the interviewees life up to now. The survey consists of 4 parts: - birth-biography: number and birth dates of all children born alive - occupational history: employment between the births and after the birth of the last child - marriage-biography: marriage date, divorce and re-marriage - desire to have children: for women under the age of 40: desire to have more children those already born The actuality of this subject is more pressing then ever: the declining birthrate has reached a historical minimum in the number of children per woman, the divorce rate is constantly increasing and the number of employed women has reached the highest level up to now. The question on the desire to have children is of special importance. To gather information on future birth rates, women under the age of 40 are asked if, and if yes, how many children they desire to have. These questions serve statistical purposes, as does the whole special survey, and are important for population forecasts and the connected calculation of requirements. The need for kindergartens, class rooms, apartments and workplaces has to be evaluated anew constantly as well as the financial burden for the contributors to the public pension scheme. There have been similar or identical questions on all 4 aforementioned topics in the years 1976 (Mikrozensus MZ7602) and/or 1981 (Mikrozensus MZ8102).