The research effort in this dissertation was directed at identifying the differentials in human fertility of ever-married Libyan women based on the 1973 population census data and explaining the obtained differentials in terms of the effect of a set of selected variables which were assumed to enhance our understanding; namely, occupation, education, duration of marriage, age, type of residence, and geographical region. Data for such variables were obtained from a special tabulation of the 1973 population census data on ever-married Libyan women and number of children born alive. These data were cross-classified with each variable mentioned above. 2 procedures were applied to measure fertility differentials--numer of children born alive/1000 ever-married women and the childlessness ratio. In general, the analysis supported the 6 hypotheses of this study. These were the major findings noted. 1) Fertility differentials by occupation, education, duration of marriage, age, type of residence, and geographical regions of ever-married Libyan women were observed. The analysis showed that ever-married Libyan women in occupational groups of professional, administrative, and clerical workers had the lowest level of fertility in rural and urban areas of the 3 regions of Cyrenaica, Fezzan, and Tripolitania. Additionally, the professional ever-married women in the same areas had the largest proportion of childless women. The analysis has also shown that ever-married women with higher educational attainment, especially those with less than university degrees, university degrees, and masters and above had the lowest level of fertility in all areas and geographical regions in Libya. Moreover, a large proporton of childless women were also found among them. 2) The general pattern of fertility observed in Libya was more consistent with that of the West than that of most other developing countries, especially with regard to fertility level in rural areas (higher than that of urban areas) and peak age of fertility (seen in broader age groups 45-49). 3) The larger proportion of childless ever-married women was found among professionals and service workers as well as ever-married women with higher education, less than 5 years of marriage, and age under 20 and 20-24. This pattern was revealed in the 3 abovementioned regions. 4) The differential pattern was inconsistent especially among rural and urban areas of the 3 regions. In most cases, however, the rural areas of Cyrenaica and Fezzan had higher levels of fertility. 5) The overall pattern of fertility differentials in Libya indicated thqt more socioeconomic and cultural development will stimulate greater fertility differentials. The findings indicated that the country can be located in the 2nd stage of demographic transition. With continued socioeconomic and cultural developments, Libya is expected to approach the 3rd stage in a short time. As this study has shown, any population policies concerning fertility in Libya should take into consideration the interrelationship between demographic processes and development planning.