Fertility intention and related factors in China: findings from the 2017 National Fertility Survey

This paper reports the fertility intension of women based on data from the national fertility survey in 2017 in China (CFS 2017), after implementation of the universal two-child policy, and analyses major related factors. The reported ideal number of children is 1.96 in average, and the intended number of children is 1.76, with obvious differences among different regions. The ideal number of children is highly correlated with the intended number of children, and intended number of children is related to number of children women already have. Women who have had one child intend to have fewer children than women who have not yet had a child. Women who have not yet had any child intend to have 1.60 children in average. The preference of boy varies by intended number of children.