Unexpectedly, Sri Lanka started demonstrating an increase in fertility, since the early part of the new millennium. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 5.3 births per woman in the 1950s which declined to 3.4 in 1981 and further to 1.9 during the period 1995–2000 unexpectedly soared to the 2.3 level as evidenced by the 2006–07 DHS. Observed fertility increase continued and reached TFR of 2.4 by 2012, which is the ever-reported highest value during the past 15–20 years. This trend is a result of several factors including a change in “value of children.” The declining trend in the mean age at marriage and contraceptive prevalence during the past decade may have contributed to this unexpected trend. Data collected during the past 15–20 years have shown an increase in the perceived benefits from children. Many pro-natal sympathizers justify pronatalistic activities by arguing that the country needs more births. A large proportion of couples prefer to have two or three children. Having experienced natural (tsunami) and man-made (civil strife by Tamil and Muslim extremists) disasters, most couples have revised their fertility preferences. Apart from these factors, all main ethnic groups in Sri Lanka are concerned about their share in the country’s overall population, which would have also contributed to the change in the value of children in contemporary Sri Lanka.

出乎意料的是，自新千年初期以来，斯里兰卡开始表现出生育能力的提高。1950年代每名妇女的总生育率（TFR）在1950年代下降到1981年的3.4，然后在1995-2000年期间进一步下降到1.9，这由2006-07人口与健康调查所证明的突然上升到2.3的水平。观察到的生育率持续增长，到2012年达到TFR的2.4，这是过去15至20年以来报告的最高值。这种趋势是多种因素共同作用的结果，其中包括“儿童价值”的变化。在过去十年中，平均结婚年龄和避孕普及率的下降趋势可能导致了这种意外的趋势。在过去15至20年中收集的数据表明，儿童的感知收益有所增加。许多赞成产前的人士通过论证该国需要更多的出生来证明其从事产前活动的合理性。很大一部分夫妻喜欢生两个或三个孩子。经历了自然（海啸）和人为（泰米尔和穆斯林极端分子的内乱）灾难之后，大多数夫妻都改变了对生育的偏好。除这些因素外，斯里兰卡所有主要种族群体都对他们在该国总人口中所占的份额感到关切，这也将导致当代斯里兰卡儿童价值的变化。