Population dynamics of an atoll community

Abstract

A 1960 census of population for Ulithi atoll in Micronesia permits comparison with a prior enumeration conducted in 1949. During the intercensal period, a marked increase in population is noted, reversing a long-term trend of depopulation for the atoll community. Data on mortality, fertility, migration, and family structure are presented to examine changes in the population balance. The conclusions of the study lend support to a previous contention by the senior author that gonorrhrea has had a major effect on fertility levels. Since medical control of this venereal disease in the late forties, fertility rates have increased to the point that the atoll community has experienced a modest population expansion. These changes in fertility reflect an increase in the average number of children per mother and a decline in childless women, rather than a more favourable distribution of females in child-bearing ages.