One of the most underappreciated facts about the last half of the twentieth century was the global decline in fertility rates. While the average woman in 1950 had around 5 children, today it is less than 2.5. The implication is that women’s fertility rates can fall rapidly; it took 95 years in the UK for the fertility rate to fall from 6 to 3 children per women (from 1815 to 1910) and yet only 20 years in Bangladesh (between 1982 and 2002). South Africa, incidentally, needed 34 years – from 1963 to 1997.
A theory about having babies
A theory about having babies
A theory about having babies
One of the most underappreciated facts about the last half of the twentieth century was the global decline in fertility rates. While the average woman in 1950 had around 5 children, today it is less than 2.5. The implication is that women’s fertility rates can fall rapidly; it took 95 years in the UK for the fertility rate to fall from 6 to 3 children per women (from 1815 to 1910) and yet only 20 years in Bangladesh (between 1982 and 2002). South Africa, incidentally, needed 34 years – from 1963 to 1997.