BBC Science Focus - 03.2020

DISCOVERIES

FERTILITY RATE, WORLD (births per woman)

0

2

4

0

2

4

6

FERTILITY RATE BY COUNTRY (births per woman)

MadagascarCote d'Ivoire

Rwanda Ghana

Zimbabwe

Kenya

Egypt, Arab Rep.

MoroccoAlgeria

South Africa

Tunisia

Yemen, Rep. Afghanistan

PakistanTajikistan

Jordan

Syrian Arab Rep.

Turkmenistan

Lao PDR

Saudi Arabia PhilippinesCambodia Uzbekistan Indonesia

Libya India

Myanmar Sri Lanka

Iran, Islamic Rep.

Turkey Lebanon

Bangladesh

MalaysiaVietnam

Nepal s Rep.

Azerbaijan

China

Thailand

Un. Arab Emirates

Singapore

Hong Kong SAR, China

Korea, Rep.

Haiti

Guatemala

Bolivia

HondurasNicaragua Ecuador Paraguay

Dominican Rep. Venezuela, RB

Peru

Mexico

Colombia El Salvador

Brazil Chile

Fertility

rate

BABY

SLUMP

Between 1960 and 2017, fertility

rates dropped dramatically

around the world, with the global

average falling from around five

births per woman, to under 2.5.

Fertility rates are generally

higher in the countries with

lower GDP. This is due to a

number of factors, including lack

of access to contraceptives, lower

levels of female education, and a

desire to have children for labour.

As populations gain greater

access to contraception, and more

women enter education and work,

fertility rates drop. Another key

reason for the drop is that child

mortality rates are also falling,

which means that women are

setting out to have fewer babies.

INFOGRAPHIC BY FEDERICA FRANGIPANE

SOURCE: GLOBAL FOOTPRINT NETWORK,
2019 NATIONAL FOOTPRINT ACCOUNTS

Data crunch