EDITORS NIDI, P.O. Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague, The Netherlands CBGS, Markiesstraat 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium This volume is the tenth edition in the series "Population and Family in the Low Countries." It is published by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demo graphic Institute (NIDI, The Hague) together with the Flemish Population and Family Study Centre (CBGS, Brussels), with the purpose to inform an international audience on results of demographic research in Belgium and the Netherlands. The series started in 1976. From 1991 on, it is published annually. The current edition includes seven articles reflecting a selection of current research issues in the Low Countries. With permission of the Dutch and Belgian Governments the national reports submitted to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (Cai'ro) are also included in this volume. They provide up to date information on the official views at present of the Dutch and Belgian Government on demographic trends and population policy issues."

The aim of Diversity in Family Formation is to examine changes in the start of the family formation process. Rather than giving a rough overview of demographic changes in many countries, a comparison of differences in changes in family formation and fertility behaviour between Belgium and The Netherlands is interesting for various reasons. First, even though the economic and cultural differences between these countries are relatively small there is one important difference: Belgium is predominantly Catholic, whereas The Netherlands has about equal proportions of Catholics and Protestants. Second, if the Second Demographic Transition implies that there is one common pattern of change in different European countries and that differences across countries are due to the fact that countries are in a different stage of the transition process, and if it is assumed that the transition process started earlier in Protestant countries than in Catholic countries, one would expect The Netherlands to be in a further stage of the transition process than Belgium. Thus an in-depth comparison of changes in family formation and fertility behaviour between both countries may give us more insight in the question of whether there is one common transition process. The comparison of fertility and family survey-data in both countries brings us to the core question of whether there is one common explanation for differences between countries in various types of fertility and family behaviour under consideration, namely fertility regulation, the choice of living arrangement after leaving the parental home, and the labour force participation of mothers.

EDITORS Hans V AN DEN BREKEL * and Fred DEVEN** * NIDI, P. O. Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague, The Netherlands ** CBGS, Markiesstraat 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium The series "Population and Family in the Low Countries" (POPFAM), established in 1976, aims to introduce selected issues of demographic research in Flanders/Belgium and the Netherlands to an international audience. The publication series results from cooperation between the Nether lands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI, The Hague) and the Flemish Population and Family Study Centre (CBGS, Brussels). This 1995 edition is the 111h in the series. In 1995, the NIDI celebrates its 25th anniversary as the Dutch national demographic institute, making it a special year for Dutch demography. The contents of this publication obviously highlights this event as most articles selected for this edition are written by Dutch or NIDI related scholars. The article "Ageing and the demand for care: scenario studies for Europe" by Hanna van Solinge and Jenny de Jong Gierveld concerns a comparative study with respect to the consequences of ageing populations for the infrastructure of care for the elderly. It presents results of a scenario study on future developments in demand and supply of elderly care services for a selected number of European countries, summarizing an extensive study on the impact of ageing populations on the socio-medical system conducted by the authors on behalf of the European Population Committee of the Council of Europe."

EDITORS NIDI, P.O. Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague, The Netherlands CBGS, Markiesstraat 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium This volume is the tenth edition in the series "Population and Family in the Low Countries". It is published by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demo graphic Institute (NIDI, The Hague) together with the Flemish Population and Family Study Centre (CBGS, Brussels), with the purpose to inform an international audience on results of demographic research in Belgium and the Netherlands. The series started in 1976. From 1991 on, it is published annually. The current edition includes seven articles reflecting a selection of current research issues in the Low Countries. With permission of the Dutch and Belgian Governments the national reports submitted to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (Cai'ro) are also included in this volume. They provide up to date information on the official views at present of the Dutch and Belgian Government on demographic trends and population policy issues.

EDITORS Hans V AN DEN BREKEL * and Fred DEVEN** * NIDI, P. O. Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague, The Netherlands ** CBGS, Markiesstraat 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium The series "Population and Family in the Low Countries" (POPFAM), established in 1976, aims to introduce selected issues of demographic research in Flanders/Belgium and the Netherlands to an international audience. The publication series results from cooperation between the Nether lands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI, The Hague) and the Flemish Population and Family Study Centre (CBGS, Brussels). This 1995 edition is the 111h in the series. In 1995, the NIDI celebrates its 25th anniversary as the Dutch national demographic institute, making it a special year for Dutch demography. The contents of this publication obviously highlights this event as most articles selected for this edition are written by Dutch or NIDI related scholars. The article "Ageing and the demand for care: scenario studies for Europe" by Hanna van Solinge and Jenny de Jong Gierveld concerns a comparative study with respect to the consequences of ageing populations for the infrastructure of care for the elderly. It presents results of a scenario study on future developments in demand and supply of elderly care services for a selected number of European countries, summarizing an extensive study on the impact of ageing populations on the socio-medical system conducted by the authors on behalf of the European Population Committee of the Council of Europe.

The aim of Diversity in Family Formation is to examine changes in the start of the family formation process. Rather than giving a rough overview of demographic changes in many countries, a comparison of differences in changes in family formation and fertility behaviour between Belgium and The Netherlands is interesting for various reasons. First, even though the economic and cultural differences between these countries are relatively small there is one important difference: Belgium is predominantly Catholic, whereas The Netherlands has about equal proportions of Catholics and Protestants. Second, if the Second Demographic Transition implies that there is one common pattern of change in different European countries and that differences across countries are due to the fact that countries are in a different stage of the transition process, and if it is assumed that the transition process started earlier in Protestant countries than in Catholic countries, one would expect The Netherlands to be in a further stage of the transition process than Belgium. Thus an in-depth comparison of changes in family formation and fertility behaviour between both countries may give us more insight in the question of whether there is one common transition process. The comparison of fertility and family survey-data in both countries brings us to the core question of whether there is one common explanation for differences between countries in various types of fertility and family behaviour under consideration, namely fertility regulation, the choice of living arrangement after leaving the parental home, and the labour force participation of mothers.