Branislav Šprocha

• doc.
• Senior Researcher at INFOSTAT Demographic Research Center

The population development of Slovakia has undergone several unique and historically unique changes between the Spanish influenza and COVID-19 pandemics, which have not only significantly influenced its character and the functioning of Slovak society, but will also significantly influence its future direction. It is precisely to reveal the main dev...

The municipalities in Slovakia in which the majority of people live in Roma settlements are characterised by several specific features. However, only limited attention has been paid to the process of migration and especially internal migration. The main goal of this article is the analysis of internal migration in selected municipalities with the h...

The study makes a brief overview of the demographic processes and research on them in Czechia and Slovakia during the past three decades, the period following the splitting of the common Czechoslovak state. General trends in selected demographic processes are identified and described. Research is summarised and critically evaluated in three basic a...

Objective: The aim was to analyse the mortality trends in Czechia and Slovakia through detailed anonymized primary data on deaths in 2010-2020 and in particular to identify various aspects of the impact of the 2020 pandemic year in their context. Methods: Using the DeRaS application, complete life tables by sex for 2010-2020 were constructed for...

Residential homogamy of fiancés in Slovakia in the years 1992 to 2021 The choice of a spouse is not a random process. One of its important factors is theplace of residence. The main goal of the study was to describe and identify trends inpatterns of marital selection behaviour in Slovakia from the point of view of selectedgeographic characteristic...

Objective: The aim was to analyse the mortality trends in Czechia and Slovakia through detailed anonymized primary data on deaths in 2010–2020 and in particular to identify various aspects of the impact of the 2020 pandemic year in their context. Methods: Using the DeRaS application, complete life tables by sex for 2010–2020 were constructed for C...

Since the beginning of the 1990s, there have been significant changes in fertility quantum and tempo in Czechia and Slovakia. We are also witnessing significant age pluralization of reproduction. These and other transformational changes can be observed not only in a cross-sectional view but also in a cohort perspective. The main goal of the article...

Pripravenosť kapacít materských škôl v obciach s marginalizovanou rómskou komunitou na uplatnenie povinného predprimárneho vzdelávania

The publication deals with individual census actions that took place in Slovakia in the interwar and post-war period. It analyses and evaluates the preparation, the course and partly evaluates the selected results of the censuses. One of the main objectives of the authors was to evaluate the quality of the results of census actions as a historical...

The model of very low childlessness and the low prevalence of one‐child families was once important for Slovak society. The collapse of the Communist regime, however, led to many changes in reproductive behaviour. This article aims to analyse the development of cohort childlessness and the prevalence of one‐child families in Slovakia. Possible scen...

Shifting childbearing to later reproductive ages is reflected in all European populations. Late motherhood also changes, from the point of view of parity structure, since nowadays, the beginning of reproductive pathways is increasingly realised at the age of 35 and over more often. The regional dimension of this phenomenon is significantly overlook...

Fertility transition is taking place in all post‐communist countries. Not many studies have been conducted at the subnational level to prove the universal nature of this transition or, on the contrary, the diversity of regional trajectories. This study attempts to reveal whether the same explanatory schemes can be applied to fertility transformatio...

The Population Census in Slovakia has a rich history. A total of 16 modern censuses have been carried out in the country, a figure that includes the last one in 2021. In addition to these well-known and long-term planned statistical events, however, some lesser-known and less analysed events in the scientific community have also been implemented in...

The post-war situation in former Czechoslovakia was complicated. Suitable, reliable, and up-to-date data needed to address several urgent social problems were largely lacking. In 1946, more than 15 years had passed since the last population census 1930, and because of the major social changes and mass population transfers that had occurred in that...

The post-war situation in former Czechoslovakia was complicated. Suitable, reliable, and up-to-date data needed to address several urgent social problems were largely lacking. In 1946, more than 15 years had passed since the last population census 1930, and because of the major social changes and mass population transfers that had occurred in that...

We analyse Roma fertility in four neighbouring countries in Central and Eastern Europe with a large Roma minority: in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Serbia. The sources of data are the respective national population censuses from 2011. Fertility is measured at the birth cohort level as the average number of children ever born. We make an internatio...

The impact of specific living conditions on the population of geographically and socially segregated Roma settlements in Eastern Slovakia is considerable. They are characterized by high unemployment, lower education, poor housing and sanitary conditions, a poor quality of life, which all affects significantly their higher mortality rates and worse...

Fertility in Slovakia has been undergoing significant, and in many aspects historically unique transformational changes for almost three decades. The main features include a decrease in the intensity of childbearing, changes in the fertility tempo in the context of postponement transition, as well as in the age concentration of reproduction and the...

Changes in the reproductive behaviour of the Czech population occurring after 1989 have significantly affected the age structure. The more significant the changes at national level, the greater the regional change. The fall in the fertility rate, rising life expectancy, and new spatial patterns in migratory behaviour have significantl affected the...

The educational structure of young women in Slovakia is undergoing significant qualitative changes. Its main features include a historically unique inclination to the tertiary degree. Extending the study period and increasing participation rates in education are closely linked to these changes. At the same time, several important changes in the int...

Population ageing in the EU28 is an important twenty-first century phenomenon, affecting virtually every aspect of life in these countries. The results of the latest EUROPOP2018 population forecast indicate that the rate of ageing is accelerating. The aim of this paper is to analyse the current level of population ageing in the EU28, identify spati...

Who is Entering into Marriage in Slovakia? On Some Aspects of the Choice of Spouse in 1992–2018. The study identifies main characteristics of persons entering together into marriage in Slovakia in the period 1992–2018. We focus on the analysis of age, marital status, education and nationality of the engaged couple. The major question of the paper...

The main aim of the paper is to highlight the importance of remaining years of life in relation to demographic ageing. We use the V4 countries as our case study and analyse demographic ageing using the concept of prospective age and the relevant indicators to consider whether statutory retirement age should be readdressed given the rise in remainin...

The paper investigates the transition to second births in Czechia and Slovakia in the context of the development of parental leave policies since the beginning of the 1990s. We focus on two countries that share many similarities in terms of their economic, cultural and institutional settings but differ in their parental leave policies. We analyse t...

We analyse Roma fertility in four neighbouring countries in Central and Eastern Europe with a large Roma minority: in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Serbia. The sources of data are the respective national population censuses from 2011. Fertility is measured at the birth cohort level as the average number of children ever born. We make an internatio...

Demographic aging has been one of the most discussed aspects of population development in recent decades. Complex changes in reproductive behaviour and their impact on both age structure and future population development are often the source of concerns about the stability of socioeconomic systems (e.g. pension systems, healthcare and the labour ma...

,e aim of this paper is to analyze the progress of postponement and recuperation of fertility in the context of the differences between functional urban regions and their centers and hinterlands in Slovakia. In addition to the standard indicators for expressing the change in fertility tempo and quantum, we will also analyze the postponement fertili...

The Webb diagram is a method that can be used to compare how much natural change and net migration in a region population contribute to the increase or decrease in the total population. The aim of the article is to evaluate the dynamics of population development in Czechia and Slovakia at the municipal level between 1996 and 2015. By using the Webb...

Religiosity has long been considered one of the most important and most consistent determining factors in fertility schedules. The general view is that religious women tend to have larger families, are less likely to remain childless and that they are more likely to choose a reproductive strategy with an above-average number of children. The aim of...

The paper is concerned with the main changes of direction in population policy in Slovakia in the period 1918-1945. Gradual appearance and deepening of changes in reproductive behaviour in the framework of the demographic revolution was characteristic of this period. The number of births decreased and so did infant mortality. On the other hand, lim...

New approaches to assessing the population ageing process and their application for Slovakia and Europe Population ageing is one of the most important phenomenon of the 21st century. This is especially true for the Slovak population. According to almost all population projections and analyzes, the population ageing process of Slovakia will become m...

Reprodukčné správanie v Českej republice a v Slovenskej republike prešlo v 20. a na začiatku 21. storočia viacerými významnými transformáciami. V priebehu niečo viac ako 100 rokov sa charakter plodnosti a úmrtnosti podstatným spôsobom viackrát zmenil. Cieľom príspevku je analyzovať vývoj pôrodnosti a plodnosti spolu s úmrtnosťou v dlhom časovom asp...

Sobášnosť a rozvodovosť v Českej republike a v Slovenskej republike prešli od začiatku 20. storočia veľkými zmenami, ktoré sa odrážajú nielen na intenzite techto procesov, ale aj na štruktúre obyvateľstva podľa rodinného stavu, charaktere rodín a domácností. Hlavným cieľom príspevku je v hlavných rysoch analyzovať dlhodobý vývoj sobášnosti a rozvod...

Fertility postponement is one of the most important trends in the demographic behavior in Slovakia after collapse of previous political regime. The reproduction model which was primarily characterized by early motherhood began to diminish in late 1960s and with every new generation, it loses further ground. It is manifested in continuous rise in co...

Since 1989, fertility in Czechia and Slovakia has undergone a unique and unprecedented transition. This is most evident in the postponement of conception. Some scholars are now referring to this as the postponement transition. Relatively detailed information is available on this transition at the national level, but the regional picture is often ne...

The past quarter century has brought to Slovakia a number of significant, dynamic, dramatic and, in many ways, historically unique social transformations. Young generations in new social, political and economic conditions have changed several patterns of their behaviour. Transitions in the life cycles of young people have become more complex and le...

The Ruthenian population appeared on the territory of Slovakia during the so-called Wallachian colonization period, which took place from the 14th century to the 16th century. They settled in mountainous and foothill regions suitable for sheep and goat grazing. Their settlement was more distinct in the territory of eastern Slovakia and although the...

Fertility postponement and the concomitant decline in fertility levels are the most prominent trends in the demographic behaviours of the former Eastern Bloc countries in Central Europe. A number of studies have analysed period fertility development but the cohort perspective is often neglected. The postponement transition has evolved over a long t...

The study examines the development of population policy in socialist Slovakia in connection to reproductive behaviour between 1948 and 1989. The paper analyzes the nature and gradual spreading of various types of population measures aimed at pregnant women, the period of childbirth and postnatal care, interruptions, the life of families with childr...

In the last quarter century, women’s reproductive behaviour underwent a marked change in Czechia. The 2011 census showed a fall in cohort fertility below two children per woman by the end of her reproductive span. Factors behind changes in fertility, particularly from a cohort perspective, have not been sufficiently analyzed. The aim of this articl...

The past quarter century has brought to Slovakia a number of significant, dynamic, dramatic and, in many ways, historically unique social transformations. Young generations in new social, political and economic conditions have changed several patterns of their behaviour. Transitions in the life cycles of young people have become more complex and le...

Population development in Slovakia before the First World War receives very little attention for a variety of reasons. The current state of knowledge is somewhat less than satisfactory. In general, it must be said that the nineteenth century was a time of major socio-economic and political changes that had major effects on the life of the populatio...

Since 1989, fertility in Czechia and Slovakia has undergone a unique and unprecedented transition. This is most evident in the postponement of conception. Some scholars are now referring to this as the postponement transition. Relatively detailed information is available on this transition at the national level, but the regional picture is often ne...

The long-term trend in cohort fertility in Czechia and Slovakia has led to a significant decrease to fewer than two children. Significant changes in the structure of the female population by parity are taking place in the background of this decline.This article seeks to analyze the development of completed cohort fertility in Czechia and Slovakia i...

Population development in Czechia and Slovakia after 1989 has in many ways resulted in historically unique changes in the character of demographic reproduction. These are characterised by a dramatic decline in nuptiality, fertility and induced abortion, postponement of childbirth, and delayed entry into first marriage. At the same time, divorce rat...

The article compares the aggregated estimates and results of two current national population forecasts to the year 2060 that were produced in 2012 for Slovakia and in 2018 for Czechia. It comments in detail on the basic irregularities in the age-sex structure that have formed over the past one hundred years and their expected transformation in the...

During the interwar period the development of the population in Czechoslovakia reflected long-term reproductive trends (decreasing fertility and mortality) and the effects of contemporary political and economic developments. The populations of Czechia and Slovakia followed more or less similar paths of development, the difference being that fertili...

Najväčšie mestá predstavujú v mnohých aspektoch kľúčovú zložku fungovania modernej slovenskej spoločnosti. Z pohľadu demografického výskumu a najmä populačných prognóz im však bola doteraz venovaná len obmedzená pozornosť. Vzhľadom na veľký význam a v mnohých ohľadoch špecifickosť populácií najväčších miest sa predkladaná monografia riešiteľského k...

Women in Slovakia and in other countries in Central and Eastern Europe whose reproduc¬tive years overlapped with the previous political regime rarely opted not to have children, and childlessness thus became a marginal phenomenon. This study provides a detailed recon¬struction of long-term childlessness trends among women in Slovakia. In addition,...

In the second half of the nineteenth century, most of the countries in western and northern Europe underwent a transformation in reproductive behaviour. The majority of countries in central and especially Eastern Europe experienced this trend later in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Additionally this transformation did not affect a whole c...

The level of fertility in the majority of European countries is deeply below the replacement level. On the other hand, in the case of some ethnic groups, fertility continues to be on an above-average level. One such example is the Romany population of Slovakia, especially those in very poor, segregated settlements. Very likely, there are strong int...

Before the Second World War Slovakia was ethnically heterogeneous. For several centuries it included a relatively numerous ethnic group of Ruthenians (Rusyns) as its integral part. However, it was not an autochthonous, but a migration population, which came to Eastern and North-Eastern Slovakia mainly during the so-called Wallachian colonisation. D...

Romanies in Slovakia are in many ways specific populations. Owing to their ethnicity and especially a degree of isolation from the majority, it is still possible to identify many differences in reproductive behaviour in the Roma population. Probably the one mentioned most is the fertility of Roma women. The paper analyses fertility from a cohort pe...

Romanies in Slovakia are in many ways specific populations. Owing to their ethnicity and especially a degree of isolation from the majority, it is still possible to identify many differences in reproductive behaviour in the Roma population. Probably the one mentioned most is the fertility of Roma women. The paper analyses fertility from a cohort pe...

The aim of the present paper is to map the changes that took place in family law in Slovakia at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The main change was the rise of civil marriage, which became an option for couples wishing to marriage alongside a church marriage. Couples were also permitted to divorce and remarry. The paper also aim...

Who Lives in Cohabitations in Slovakia? The Intensity of Formation and Characteris-tics of Cohabiting Persons According to the Population and Housing Census 2011. The study identifies main characteristics of cohabitations by analyzing population and housing census from 2011. The results of the analysis confirmed existing differences in the structur...

Educational attainment is one of the most important features of differential fertility. The aim of this paper is to analyse the development of cohort fertility in Czechia and Slovakia by level of education, to identify changes in the structure of women by the number of births and education, and to highlight the development of parity progression rat...

The study identifies main characteristics of cohabitations by analyzing population and housing census from 2011. The results of the analysis confirmed existing differences in the structure and intensity of formation of cohabitations, depending on marital status, educational attainment, ethnicity, religion, place of residence, present and the number...

Centres and hinterlands of the functional urban regions in Slovakia through the lens of cohort fertility The fertility of women in the last quarter of a century in Slovakia is undergoing very important changes. It turns out that these transformations have a significant regional dimension, contributing to accommodate a wide regional disparities in...

Importance of cohabitations (as an expression of the Second Demographic Transition) began to grow in the 60s of the 20th century in northern Europe and after that was spread to Western and Southern Europe and other developed countries. Taking into consideration strongly controlled family policy as well as weak society acceptance of cohabitation in...

The fertility of women in the last quarter of a century in Slovakia is undergoing very important changes. It turns out that these transformations have a significant regional dimension, contributing to accommodate a wide regional disparities in the realized fertility and structure of women by the number of children (parity). A very important aspect...

Women in Slovakia and in other countries in Central and Eastern Europe whose reproduc-tive years overlapped with the previous political regime rarely opted not to have children, and childlessness thus became a marginal phenomenon. This study provides a detailed recon-struction of long-term childlessness trends among women in Slovakia. In addition,...

The demographic transition in Slovakia from the point of view of fertility began in the early 20th century. In connection with these changes in fertility in Slovakia in the first half of the 20th century there was a significant and historically unique transformation of the intensity and the character of age-specific fertility rates. The main aim of...

Importance of cohabitations (as an expression of the Second Demographic Transition) began to grow in the 60s of the 20th century in northern Europe and after that was spread to Western and Southern Europe and other developed countries. Taking into consideration strongly controlled family policy as well as weak society acceptance of cohabitation in...

Over the last quarter of a century female fertility in Czechia has undergone dynamic and dramatic change. One of the main indications of this is the postponement of births and associated fertility ageing. This article analyses the spatial differences in the character and intensity of fertility in the early 1990s and the current era and attempts to...

you can download the file at http://www.cspv.sav.sk/fileadmin/user_upload/Aktuality/Publikacia_GMT/Global_Megatrends_from_Slovak_Point_of_View_06.pdf

After 1989 the process of fertility in Czechia and Slovakia has undergone historic and unique transformation. One of the main sign of these changes is the ageing of the fertility age-profile mainly caused by the postponement of births into higher ages of reproductive age span. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the spatial differences i...

The main objective of this study is interested primarily in the inter-individual diversity in fertility according to the parity distribution of women reproduction in Czech Republic and Slovakia. The authors identify a sharp decline in the concentration of reproduction during the 20th century at very low levels. It was primarily the result of a very...

The concept of prospective age and its application to selected indicators of demographic ageing. Demographic ageing is often called a phenomenon of the 21st century. However, it is a natural process, which we more or less consciously influence. Population ageing is the result of improvements to the health status of the population and the enhancemen...

p>This paper examines fertility and family policies in 15 Central and East European (CEE) countries to establish firstly, likely directions of cohort fertility trends for the coming decade; and secondly, to provide an overview and analysis of family policies in CEE countries, and to assess their impact on cohort fertility trends. Demographic analys...

The main objective of this study is interested primarily in the inter-individual diversity in fertility according to the parity distribution of women reproduction in Czech Republic and Slovakia. The authors identify a sharp decline in the concentration of reproduction during the 20th century at very low levels. It was primarily the result of a very...

The main objective of this paper is to analyse the postponement of women starting families in Slovakia in a regional perspective. Despite the significant changes in the patterns of fertility, childbearing and marriage are still inseparable. The "ageing of nuptiality" is one of the main features of the nuptiality transition in the last quarter of a...

Apart from the large ethnic groups, the multi-ethnic Kingdom of Hungary also included several less numerous historic autochthonous and alochthonous ethnic groups. We can describe the initially nomadic Romany group as relatively late arrivals. Thanks to their ethnic difference they were symbolically and often also really excluded from the majority s...

The apparent decline in first-marriage rates and the dynamic increase in the mean age at first marriage in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic has been described as one of the great reproduction changes in the last quarter century. Despite significant changes in matrimonial behaviour and fertility legitimacy, nuptiality is still very importa...

Demographic ageing is often called a phenomenon of the 21st century. However, it is a natural process, which we more or less consciously influence. Population ageing is the result of improvements to the health status of the population and the enhancement of the quality of human life that began in the 18th century as part of the demographic revoluti...

The Roma have been an integral part of the ethnic makeup of Slovakia for several centuries, yet little is known about the population history and population development of this in many aspects unique ethnic group. One of the reasons for that is the general lack of historical sources which could offer at least a partial answer to these questions. The...

Slovak population in the 20th century has undergone significant changes in the character of the reproductive behavior. However, these changes not proceed simultaneously and in the entire population at once. One of the most frequently mentioned factors is the economic activity of women and their related affiliation with one of the economic sectors....