Global Fertility Rates Decline Faster Than Anticipated

The Guardian view on the global baby bust: people are having fewer children – even where they say they want more | Editorial

Indian fertility has fallen below the rate required for population stability, in further evidence of the unexpectedly rapid decline in births internationally The global fall in fertility rates has arrived faster and spread further than anticipated. Two-thirds of people now live in countries that have slipped below the replacement rate – 2.1 births per woman – required for a stable population. Last month, India revealed that its fertility rate had fallen to just 1.9. The world’s two most popul...

By Editorial