Total Fertility Rate

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

the average number of kids a woman is expected to have in her lifetime

• If the TFR is high, it usually means more babies are being born, leading to faster population growth.

• If the TFR is low, it generally means fewer babies, which can slow down population growth.

Replacement Level Fertility

the number of children a couple needs to have to keep the population size the same over time

• In developed countries, this # is about 2.1 (so each couple has enough kids to replace themselves).

• In less developed countries, the # is higher because more babies don’t survive to adulthood, so families need to have more children to maintain the population.

The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

the number of babies who die before their first birthday for every 1,000 people in a population

• This rate is usually higher in less developed countries because they often have less access to healthcare, clean water, and enough food.

• A higher IMR often leads to a higher Total Fertility Rate (TFR) because families may have more children to replace those they lose.

Development (or wealth)

in a country affects the number of children people have

• Wealthier countries usually have a lower Total Fertility Rate (TFR) compared to poorer countries.

• This is because women in richer countries often have better access to education and job opportunities.

• In wealthier nations, families often don't rely on children for farming income, which reduces the need to have many kids.

Government policies

can greatly affect how many children people have, and they can be either forceful or encouraging

Forceful policies

might include things like forced sterilization or limits on how many children a family can have (like China’s one-child policy, which has changed to two)

Encouraging policies

could involve giving tax breaks for having fewer kids or offering loans to women without children so they can start their own businesses

Female Education & TFR

More education = fewer unplanned pregnancies, More education = more job. opportunities for women