CRPH

Dr. Abbasi-Shavazi was the head of the Department of Demography at the University of Tehran from 2002-2006 and has been a member of the Executive Council of the Population Association of Iran since 2001. He is currently the Chair of the Establishment Committee of the Asian Population Association, a member of the Board of Trustees, International Center for Diarrhoeal Diseases, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), and a member of the International Advisory Board of the journal or Asian Population Studies based in Singapore. Dr. Abbasi's main research has focused on Iran's fertility transition but he has also worked on other areas including family change, reproductive health/infertility, and Afghan refugees in Iran. In addition to fertility, Dr. Abbasi has published papers on family change, ethnicity and family patterns, as well as consanguinity in Iran.

The fertility rate in the Islamic Republic of Iran fell from 7.0 births per woman in 1985 to 2.1 births per woman in 2000 and to 1.9 in 2006. That this, the largest and fastest fall in fertility ever recorded, should have occurred in one of the world's few Islamic Republics demands explanation. Fertility trends and patterns in Iran over the last three decades will be presented and the reasons behind the sharp fertility discussed.


	March 27, 2008	Forces Behind the Sharp Fertility Decline in Iran
	Dr. Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi
	Associate Professor, Department of Demography, University of Tehran, Iran. Associate at the Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute (ADSRI), the Australian National University (ANU).


	Dr. Abbasi-Shavazi was the head of the Department of Demography at the University of Tehran from 2002-2006 and has been a member of the Executive Council of the Population Association of Iran since 2001. He is currently the Chair of the Establishment Committee of the Asian Population Association, a member of the Board of Trustees, International Center for Diarrhoeal Diseases, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), and a member of the International Advisory Board of the journal or Asian Population Studies based in Singapore. Dr. Abbasi's main research has focused on Iran's fertility transition but he has also worked on other areas including family change, reproductive health/infertility, and Afghan refugees in Iran. In addition to fertility, Dr. Abbasi has published papers on family change, ethnicity and family patterns, as well as consanguinity in Iran. The fertility rate in the Islamic Republic of Iran fell from 7.0 births per woman in 1985 to 2.1 births per woman in 2000 and to 1.9 in 2006. That this, the largest and fastest fall in fertility ever recorded, should have occurred in one of the world's few Islamic Republics demands explanation. Fertility trends and patterns in Iran over the last three decades will be presented and the reasons behind the sharp fertility discussed.