Latest census reveals changes within family and their impact on its composition (INS Director)

The results of surveys and statistics carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) reveal changes within Tunisian families in various areas and in their composition, including a reduction in number of family members from 5 in mid-1990s to less than 4 at present, or an average of 3.8 persons, said INS Director General Adnen Lassoued. Speaking at a national symposium organised Saturday by the Ministry of the Family, Women, Children and the Elderly to mark Arab Human Rights Day on the theme of "The Tunisian family: national support and protection mechanisms", he said that women's fertility rates had fallen from around six children in the 1970s to less than two at present, while women's age at marriage had risen from 24 in the 1980s to 30 now. He said the institute's 2023 census showed that the number of marriages had fallen from around 110,000 in 2014 to 77,000 last year, while the number of births had fallen from 225,000 to 160,000 over the same period. The census also showed that 90.6% of preg nant women underwent antenatal care in 2023, compared to 95.3% in 2018. The percentage of newborns undergoing medical examinations decreased from 96.8% to 95.4% over the same period, according to the results of the census, which also revealed that 6 out of 10 newborns are not breastfed in the first hour after birth, contrary to World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations that children should be exclusively breastfed for six months. The director general of the INS also noted that violence against children in the family has decreased compared to 2018, stating that 81% of children aged one to 14 were subjected to psychological and physical violence at least once in the family environment in 2023, describing this rate as "worrying". Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse