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The State of Social Progress of Islamic Societies pp 401–428Cite as

Evolution of Family Demography, Data Availability and Usage in Selected Islamic States: Socioeconomic, Demographic and Political Perspectives of Muslims in Developing Countries

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Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life ((IHQL))

Abstract

The present chapter gives an overview of the evolution of family demography since the discipline’s inception and how over a short period of time it has become an important field of study. Several new professional journals came into existence and published research articles of the scholars mainly from the West. In many developing nations, however, especially in the Arab States, relevant information on family indicators was not available till late 1980s. Later, several international and regional agencies came forward and conducted large sample surveys and made available a wealth of information on family indicators for the Arab countries. Notwithstanding the availability of the data, its usage by Arab scholars is still very much limited. The chapter also discusses reasons for the poor usage of available data and remedial measures to increase the use of demographic data in future studies of Arab societies. Besides the countries of the Arab region, the article reviews the data availability and usage in countries of South Asia with large Muslim populations. The last sections of the chapter present the findings of the data on family indicators available from various sources and discuss the political, socioeconomic, and demographic conditions of Muslims especially Muslim women in the selected developing countries and the future challenges for development.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Family is a group of persons related by blood, marriage or adoption living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit.

  2. 2.

    According to the United Nations (2003), formal definition of “indicator” is not available. It is, however, interpreted as a quantitative substitute that is used to represent an elementary characteristic of a phenomenon. In addition, it also summarizes a single or a mixed aspect of a social reality, whether this is the unit under study or an associated element that identifies it. Although the indicator appears as a figure, it does not claim to provide a measure of its object; this is not its function. The advantage of an indicator is that it can be an easy substitute for an in-depth analysis and measurement of the family.

  3. 3.

    PAPFAM (Pan Arab Project for Family Health) is an extension of the Pan Arab Project for the Childhood Development (PAPCHILD).

  4. 4.

    Only in selected countries where the practice of FGM is prevalent.

  5. 5.

    Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia.

  6. 6.

    The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if:

    1. (i)

      She were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime, and

    2. (ii)

      She were to survive from birth through the end of her reproductive life.

  7. 7.

    The median is an average and is defined as the age by which 50 % of all women in the age group were married.

  8. 8.

    The unmet need for family planning is defined as the percentage of women who do not want to become pregnant but are not using contraception.

  9. 9.

    Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book, August 23, 2014.

  10. 10.

    Figures in parentheses show the percentages of women justifying the reason for violence by husband.

  11. 11.

    National Family Health Surveys undertaken in India are on the lines of well-known Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in several countries world over. Three rounds of the surveys have been so far completed in India. The fourth round – NFHS – 4 (2014–2015), is presently underway.

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Acknowledgement

The authors express their gratitude to Dr. Fred Arnold, Senior Fellow, ICF International, Calverton, MD 20705 U.S.A., for the information provided on the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in Arab and other South Asian countries. Our sincere thanks are due to anonymous referees for their constructive comments and helpful suggestions. The authors have also been benefitted from the discussions they had with Professor Ravi Verma, Regional Director for Asia at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), New Delhi, India and Professor Ram Babu Bhagat of the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India. However, any errors and shortcomings are the sole responsibility of the authors. The lead author is grateful to his daughter Dr. Shailly Saxena and son-in-law Dr. Ratnesh Srivastav for providing all necessary help and facilities for this research during his stay in Gold Coast, Australia. The help given by Mr. D. Mestry, Librarian, IIPS and Mr. D. More in preparation of this chapter is gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. JJT University, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, India

    Prem Saxena

  2. Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, Doha, Qatar

    Ahmad Hussein

Authors
  1. Prem Saxena
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  2. Ahmad Hussein
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Correspondence to Prem Saxena .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oran2, Oran, Algeria

    Habib Tiliouine

  2. School of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Richard J. Estes

Annexure Tables

Annexure Tables

Table A.1 Distribution of world’s Muslim population by region, 2010
Full size table
Table A.2 Data sources of family indicators available in Arab Countries 1985–2013
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Table A.3 Data sources on family indicators in selected South Asian Countries with large Muslim populations
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Saxena, P., Hussein, A. (2016). Evolution of Family Demography, Data Availability and Usage in Selected Islamic States: Socioeconomic, Demographic and Political Perspectives of Muslims in Developing Countries. In: Tiliouine, H., Estes, R. (eds) The State of Social Progress of Islamic Societies. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24774-8_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24774-8_18

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