The examination of marriage, reproduction, and contraception among migrants from 12 rural townships (Shijian, Tianhua, and Honglin) in Wuwei county in central Anhui Province, China, was based on a survey conducted July 1, 1989. The results showed that 6.08% of all households (5721 households) had migrants; a total of 6069 migrants lived in the 12 townships (3.11% of total population). There were 3268 males and 2801 females (a sex ratio of 116.6), which reflects the number of women who left home to work as domestics. 82.87% of the total were aged 15-19, 20-24, and 25-29 years. Females outnumbered males in all age groups, except those aged 15-19, 20-24, and 55-59 years. 3096 migrated to Beijing, 609 to Shanghai, 364 to Nanjing, 308 to Tianjin, 209 to Hefei, 122 to Nantong, Shenjiang, and Wuxi in Jiangsu province, and smaller numbers migrated to other cities and provinces. Migrants were seeking work as domestics (1880 persons or 30.96%), in food services and small retail shops (2938 or 48.25%), and as temporary or contract workers (1261 or 20.77%). There were 1847 unmarried female migrants (65.94%) and 954 married female migrants (33.81%). A few were divorced or widowed. 54.02% (1513) of the migrant women were illiterate or semi-illiterate. 30.72% (850) were primary school graduates. None were college graduates. The level of education among migrants was slightly higher than the female population in general in the county. 28.2% (790) of migrant women were married and fertile and primarily aged 25-29 years (29.37%) or aged 20-24 years (17.22%). 218 (27.59%) married women had no children and 197 (24.94%) had one child; 152 (19.24%) had two children and 223 (29.23%) had three or more children. Migrant women had fewer children than women in general in the county. 33.33% of women aged 15-19 years had one child, and the number of children decreased with age. 10.89% (86) of migrant women had had children without permission, of which 43.02% were women with two children and 55.81% were women with three children. 40.38% (319) did not use contraception. 32.55% had had a tubal ligation, 18.35% used an IUD, and 7.73% used pills or other devices. The contraceptive rate was 59.62%. Tighter controls were recommended on family planning policy, migration, record keeping, and organization.

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