Calot, Gérard2017-12-312017-12-311981Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny 43, 1981, z. 4, s. 207-2170035-9629http://hdl.handle.net/10593/21155A visible decrease in fertility can be observed in all Western Europe countries from 15 years. More and more frequently families confine themselves to a couple of children. An analysis of the total fertility rates delivers an observation that there occurs a steady decline of them after a transitory increase in the post-war period. It is a result of évolution of family structure by a number of children. After the World War II an increase in percentage of women bearing three or more children occured with simultaneous decrease of childless and one-child families. Then during the last fifteen years the percentage of childless couples has not significantly changed, but a family percentage with one child and especially with two children has increased at the cost of numerous families. A fertility calendar has been also a subject to evolution. Fertility analysis by generations, starting from women born about 1895, according to the author allows to formulate two hypotheses. The first one is that the Western societies are on a road to self-annihilation and that they will be replaced by other emerging civilizations in future. According to the second hypothesis we have to do here with a new type of „oscillatory" fertility, and at present we find ourselves only in depression of demographic cycle from which we must get out in a more or less distant future. No statistical data allow to verify the hypotheses ultimately at present.polinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessArtykuł