AUSTRALIA
1.79
BRAZIL
1.73
CANADA
1.54
CHINA
1.62
FRANCE
1.89
GERMANY
1.60
GREECE
1.38
INDONESIA
2.36
MEXICO
2.18
SOUTH
KOREA
1.17
ITALY
1.34
ISRAEL
3.11
NETHERLANDS
1.66
RUSSIA
1.76
SAUDI
ARABIA
2.53
SOUTH
AFRICA
2.46
U.S.
1.82
U.K.
1.79
TURKEY
2.11
SPAIN
1.34
INDIA
2.33
JAPAN
1.44
CHANGE IN FERTILITY RATE FOR SELECTED COUNTRIES
AVERAGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN BORN PER WOMAN
1970, 1995, AND 2016
DOTTED LINE SHOWS
REPLACEMENT-
LEVEL RATE (2.1)
L AST BY TE
96
FORTUNE.COM // MAY.1.19
IN MOST INDUSTRIAL NATIONS, the average number of childbirths per woman has
fallen below 2.1—the “replacement rate” at which population growth levels
off. That may be good for a resource-strained planet. But for businesses and
governments, it’s a looming challenge. One impact of declining fertility—a
sinking ratio of working-age people to retirees—is already eroding social safety
nets in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Falling birth rates also threaten consumer-
facing industries whose growth depends on ever-expanding pools of custom-
ers. To address the problem, we’ll need big gains in productivity and better
immigration policy. Those solutions are anything but child’s play. —MATT HEIMER
BIRTH OF A
QUANDARY
SOURCE: OECD GRAPHIC BY NICOLAS RAPP
