Variation of the parameters of natural reproduction and Crow’s indices in the ethnic groups of Dagestan

Abstract

Using the 2002 All-Russian population census data, the parameters of differential fertility as a component of natural selection (Crow's indices) have been calculated for women of seven age cohorts of the seven most numerous ethnic groups of the Republic of Dagestan. It has been shown that in the population of Dagestan in the second half of the 20th century the intensities of two types of selection tended to decrease, viz., intragroup selection relaxed in each ethnic group due to considerable reduction of interfamily variance in fertility and intergroup selection relaxed due to reduction ofinterethnic differences in fertility. A reduction of the average number of offspring (kappa) was observed in all ethnic groups, suggesting the spread of birth regulation practices (abortion and contraception). Nevertheless, all Muslim groups (aboriginal Dagestan ethnic groups and Azerbaijanis) are still characterized by an extended pattern of reproduction (2.7 < kappa < 3.3); in Russians kappa = 2.1. Interethnic differentials in natural reproduction rates, along with migration processes, account for the dynamics of the ethnic composition and gene-pool structure of the population of the Republic of Dagestan.