Reviving the Demographic Study of the Amish.

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

Colyer, Cory, Cory Anderson, Joseph Donnermeyer, Rachel Stein, and Samson Wasao. 2017.

5(1):96-119.

Amish are difficult to study using traditional survey methods, but they produce registries (“directories”) that can be leveraged for non-intrusive analyses
Benjamin McKune digitized Holmes County, Ohio, Amish directories 1965-2010, linking households, but died before completing data cleaning
Findings from a limited analysis of McKune data include: Amish population grew 200% over 45 years (doubling time 30 years); stable sex ratio, median age, and family size; gradually decreasing family size and lower infant mortality rates in recent decades
In service of future demographic research, an exhaustive review of Amish demography literature aggregates key findings

Conversions to the Amish are very low
Wide population pyramid bottom signals disproportionately young population
Completed fertility around 6.3 to 7.8; fertility has remained high across 20th century
Typical marriage age in lower 20s; marriage limitations are imbalanced gender rations,
relatedness, and denominational boundaries
Parents have children younger, older, and more frequently than national averages
Intervals between births increases with time, except first to second is shorter than wedding to first
Birth control is discouraged, but some couples use it
Nuances of Amish fertility profile: high twinning rates, low out of wedlock conceptions, spring birth trough remains
Fertility positively associated with farming status, large childhood family, ordained, and conservative districts / affiliations.
Infant mortality has dropped, but high birth rates have not
While birth complications seem high, Amish also have lots of children
Few stillbirths and infant deaths: low drug / alcohol use, low STDs, social support, nutrition, modern medical access