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
Baby Blues in Europe as Birth Rate Declines
CNBC - 5/21/2013 5:49:46 AM
"In 2008, several European countries entered a period of economic crisis, usually featuring a fall in gross domestic product(GDP). From the start of the recession, the total fertility rate started to decline across Europe," Eurostat senior statistician ...
All my children: How soap operas helped end high fertility rates
Houston Chronicle - 5/15/2013 2:25:07 PM
For these reasons, it is important to understand why large countries such as India ... led to a decline in Indian fertility rates. One of the strongest correlations he found was between TV ownership, by region, and total fertility rate.
Fertility Rate Linked to Television Ownership and Media Exposure
Med India - 5/14/2013 4:20:50 PM
A new study conducted by a Stanford University researcher suggests that television and internet could be the reason why fertility rates are dropping across the world. Martin Lewis analyzed the changing birth rates of nations and compared them with ...
EU Crisis Tied to Decreased European Fertility Rate
forexblog.oanda.com - 5/21/2013 11:54:50 AM
“In 2008, several European countries entered a period of economic crisis, usually featuring a fall in gross domestic product(GDP). From the start of the recession, the total fertility rate started to decline across Europe,” Eurostat senior statistician ...
Falling fertility rate poses problems, author says
Baptist Press - 4/16/2013 7:24:22 PM
Today, 97 percent of the world's population lives in countries where the fertility rate is falling, Last said in the article. At the Family Research Council event, Last cited some past efforts to boost fertility rates. "The first attempt we see as pro ...
Singapore uses 'modern fairytales' to warn women of declining fertility
The Guardian - 3/21/2013 11:58:35 PM
With her blond bob, convertible car, cigarette in hand and cropped top emblazoned with the letters YOLO ("You Only Live Once"), this is an Alice in Wonderland the world has not ... Singapore's TFR – total fertility rate – when the city ...
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 at the ... Research in European countries shows that current family policies are having 'very little effect ...
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 ...
3 Countries With Awful Demographics
The Motley Fool - 4/29/2013 3:34:12 PM
"In 1979, the world's fertility rate ... 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 the 65-plus share of the population.
Why are birthrates falling around the world? Blame television.
Washington Post - 5/13/2013 7:42:27 PM
“I find it extraordinary that the massive global drop in human fertility ... the world — with the exception of sub-Saharan Africa, mostly. Here’s a map of the current state of affairs: One notable bit here is how many developing countries ...
Study on human fertility models find those based on economics the most reliable
Phys - 4/30/2013 11:36:48 AM
the researchers have concluded that those models that are based on economics are most likely to represent true fertility rate dynamics as they occur in the real world. Explore further: Education can offset impact of low fertility trap More information ...
Germany is the 'most popular country in the world' despite its hard line on debt-ridden EU neighbours
Daily Mail - 5/24/2013 9:20:58 AM
In response to the question: 'Tell me if you think each of the following countries is having a mainly positive or mainly negative influence in the world' 59 per cent said positive for the economic powerhouse. Even in Spain, which has been forced to live ...
Changed Puerto Rico has its population under control
Durango Herald - 5/25/2013 7:13:55 PM
Puerto Ricans live in a beautiful green place of sun and ocean ... planning so that their populations will eventually stop growing. Where does the United States fit in? Our TFR, at 1.9, is slightly below replacement. Our return to Puerto ...
Fertility Clinics in Australia Industry Market Research Report Now Available from IBISWorld
PRWeb - 5/21/2013 11:57:50 PM
Further, growth in the infertility rate has contributed to increased incidences of infertile women seeking treatment. Australia is also one of the few developed countries in the world that has substantial government funding for fertility treatments ...
Jordan population growth rate down, but remains above average
MENAFN - 5/22/2013 11:56:38 PM
The population growth rate in Jordan has continued to remain higher than the global average for several decades during the last century, with the country's population increasing from 586,000 in 1952 to 5,980,000 people at the end of 2009, said Freihat.
