The relationship between fertility and nuptiality was examined using data from the 1977 Lesotho Fertility Survey of 3603 ever-married women 15-49 years. Cross-tabular analysis is used to examine the proximate determinants of fertility. Coale's fertility index, Sivamurthy and Duza's divorce and widowhood index, and Bongaarts model are also utilized. The findings indicate that age at 1st marriage is negatively associated with fertility. Mean children ever born (CEB) decreases with the increase in age of 1st marriage in all age and place of residence groups. The differences between urban and rural women are small, but urban women tend to have lower fertility. The age difference between spouses and CEB shows that mean CEB increases when the age difference between spouses widens for total women and rural women. For urban women, CEB decreases as the age gap widens. In the analysis of women 40-49 years, it is found that stable unions have 5.5 children/woman vs. 4.6 children/divorced woman. These differences between women vary by region; there is a low of .4 children/woman difference in mountainous regions to a high of 1.2 children/woman difference in the lowlands. Stable urban women, however, may have as many as 2.1 more children than divorced urban women. Differences by religious preference, schooling, and work status are also examined. Marital dissolution has a negative effect on completed fertility. 1st and 2nd or more marriages are also examined; the finding is that more unions are related to lower fertility. The highest cumulative fertility is among those who married at the earlier ages. The mean CEB of Basotho women is increased with the increase in duration. Those marrying at younger ages have a longer 1st birth interval such that those marrying before 15 years had a birth interval of 4.5 years compared with 2.3 years for those marrying after 30 years. The average birth interval is 3.3 years. 61% of fertility was lowered from its natural level due to the high contribution of lactational infecundability, due to amenorrhea, contraception, and induced abortion, followed by nuptiality variables, specifically, marriage which accounts for 32%. This association is strongest among rural women. Nuptiality variables raised fertility from .322 to .467. Among rural women it was raised from .324 to .470 and among urban women from .292 to .423. Weaker contributions to lowering fertility from the maximum were divorce, widowhood, contraception, and childlessness. More recent data would provide a more useful base upon which to make policy decisions and plans. The analysis also did not account for migration of husband's effect or abstinence. - See more at: http://www.popline.org/node/319274#sthash.3BPnX7Gk.dpuf