Atoll-dwelling people of Tokelau in the central Pacific have been studied in their home environment and after migration to the industrial culture of New Zealand (NZ). The NZ migrants reflect the predominantly male and young composition of the migrating group. Recent migration has eased the lot of the surplus young women from Tokelau, resulting in earlier marriage and less long-term spinsterhood. The apparently higher fertility of women residing in NZ is largely explained by selection of female migrants who already have two or more children. Earlier menarche and earlier marriage in NZ probably contribute little. Future trends will be monitored, and a decline in migrant fertility is expected, if Tokelauans follow the pattern of other Polynesian migrants to urban environments. © 1981, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.

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Migrant Workers Reproductive Behavior polynesia population Micronesia-polynesia Population Dynamics sex ratio Research Report human Aged fertility marriage migrant Adolescent Infant, Newborn male Marriage Age female pregnancy rural-urban migration Support, Non-U.S. Gov't adult migration New Zealand Age Factors Demographic Factors ethnic or racial aspects Infant Mortality normal human parity Emigration and Immigration Economic Factors Menarche Human Resources Labor Force Fertility--changes Middle Age