| Abstract | 
            Pakistan is a country facing relatively  high rates of population growth due to high  fertility and decline in mortality rates. This is not only depleting scarce resources but also  contributing significantly to environmental degradation. It is, therefore, desirable to  know; why fertility rates in Pakistan remain high despite the nationwide family planning  coverage since 1965? The objective of this study, therefore, is to establish trends and  patterns of fertility among different ethnic groups (on the basis of languages spoken) in  Pakistan. The study also explores the major reasons for different fertility behaviour. This  is because; there are variety of languages spoken throughout the country having distinct  norms, traditions and other customs which directly or indirectly  influence fertility and  fertility related decisions.   The study found that the Balochi or Brohi speaking women had the most children,  Sindhi and Pushto speaking women are the  women with the second highest fertility  levels, Punjabis with the lowest and Urdu speaking almost matching them. The study  attributes the high fertility levels among some ethnic groups to low level of education,  lower age at first marriage, higher demand for children and greater value placed on  number of children. It is also found that fertility levels are high among those ethnic  groups who have little knowledge and less use of contraceptives. On the basis of  findings, study provides guideline to policy-makers, planners and family planning  personnel’s for policy formation to facilitate reduction of fertility in particular context  and to target specific sub-groups of population.    |