Definition: This entry gives a figure for the average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age. The total fertility rate (TFR) is a more direct measure of the level of fertility than the crude birth rate, since it refers to births per woman. This indicator shows the potential for population change in the country. A rate of two children per woman is considered the replacement rate for a population, resulting in relative stability in terms of total numbers. Rates above two children indicate populations growing in size and whose median age is declining. Higher rates may also indicate difficulties for families, in some situations, to feed and educate their children and for women to enter the labor force. Rates below two children indicate populations decreasing in size and growing older. Global fertility rates are in general decline and this trend is most pronounced in industrialized countries, especially Western Europe, where populations are projected to decline dramatically over the next 50 years.
Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of January 1, 2012
See also: Total fertility rate mapRelated News
All my children: How soap operas helped end high fertility rates
Houston Chronicle - 5/15/2013 1:56:29 PM
About 50 years ago India had a fertility rate of nearly six — the number of births per woman. Today that rate is 2.5, which is barely above the estimated U.S. rate of 2.1 in 2011, and essentially the level needed to keep a constant population of about 1 ...
Declining fertility rate the biggest threat to America?
FOX News - 5/10/2013 11:56:33 PM
And it's only going to get worse Jonathan last is a senior writer at the weekly standard and author of the new book what to expect. When no one's expecting America's coming demographic disaster so Jonathan welcome good to see you again. Good to see you so ...
Fertility Rate Linked to Television Ownership and Media Exposure
Med India - 5/14/2013 4:20:50 PM
Martin Lewis analyzed the changing birth rates of nations and compared them with television ... stating that the map that displays prevalence of television ownership in the country is very similar to the fertility map. Dr Lewis added that ...
TV Linked with Falling Birth Rates
LiveScience - 5/13/2013 5:33:37 PM
Birth rates ... a country's population will eventually level off) is 2.19 births per woman. Birth rates have declined significantly in many areas of the world, to a degree that is perhaps overlooked. This is particularly true in India, where the fertility ...
Birth rate falls as Europeans struggle with crisis
Irish Independent - 5/11/2013 4:07:06 AM
RESEARCH from the European Commission shows people across the union are postponing or even putting off childrearing altogether as they cope with the economic downturn. The latest evidence suggests a strong correlation between the recession and falling ...
Developing world to dominate investment
Yahoo! News - 5/18/2013 6:10:38 PM
According to new scenarios released Thursday by the World Bank, developing countries could control some $158tn (at 2010 rates) by 2030, particularly in East Asia and Latin America ... as the rich seem to be getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Developing World to Dominate Global Investment by 2030
ipsnews.net - 5/17/2013 12:39:33 AM
According to new scenarios released Thursday by the World Bank, developing countries could control some 158 trillion dollars (at 2010 rates) by 2030, particularly in East Asia and Latin America. By that time, the developing world could account for 87 to 93 ...
US surpasses other industrialized countries in infant death rate
World Socialist Web Site - 5/9/2013 3:36:40 PM
The US has by far the highest first-day death rate in the industrialized ... all other industrialized countries combined.” The 33 other industrialized countries for which data was collected recorded a combined total of 7,500 first-day deaths ...
Mideast youth need 46 million jobs by 2020
Salon - 5/11/2013 5:43:08 PM
In Arab Spring countries, anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of the population are estimated to be under 25, with the biggest youth bulge in Yemen and the smallest in Tunisia. Fertility rates, while falling, drive the world’s second highest rate ...
3 Countries With Awful Demographics
The Motley Fool - 4/29/2013 3:34:12 PM
If Japan's fertility stays where it is, the country will contract by more than half -- to 56.8 million -- by the end of the century. What's shocking here is the rate of increase in ... nearly triple as a share of its total population.
Fertility Rates and Population Decline: No Time for Children?
eNews Park Forest - 4/29/2013 4:02:50 PM
On May 15: A new book which explores the far reaching implications of the dramatic decline in fertility rates across the world will be launched ... Sciences in 2009 and appointed to their Council in 2012. She was awarded an MBE for services to social ...
Mideast economies need to create 46 million jobs by 2020 to reduce unemployment to global norm
Newser - 5/11/2013 5:35:59 PM
In Arab Spring countries, anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of the population are estimated to be under 25, with the biggest youth bulge in Yemen and the smallest in Tunisia. Fertility rates, while falling, drive the world's second highest rate of population ...
Unemployment rate in rich countries edges down: OECD
Channel NewsAsia - 5/15/2013 1:20:42 PM
PARIS: The unemployment rate across rich countries eased slightly to 8.0 percent in March ... The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said that the total number of people registered as unemployed in March was 0.4-percent lower than ...
Stop world population growth or face global collapse
examiner.com - 5/9/2013 7:40:03 PM
Lester R. Brown warns that the world is on the edge. If we do not heed the Earth's stop signs, we face food scarcity and a worldwide collapse as we exceed the planet's capacity. Chapters of Lester R. Brown's 2012 book, Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New ...
