3.7: Total fertility rate

Developed country

A country with relatively high levels of industrialization and income

Developing country

A country with relatively low levels of industrialization and income

Total fertility rate (TFR)

An estimate of the average number of children that each woman in a population will bear throughout her childbearing years.

• Average births per woman

• Not a measurement per 1,000 

• U.S. TFR ~ 1.6 (2020)

• World TFR ~ 2.30 (2020)

Replacement-level fertility

The total fertility rate required to offset the average number of deaths in a population in order to maintain the current population size.

• Compare replacement-level fertility with TFR to get a sense of a country’s level of development

• Ex. TFR of 2.1 – replace parents and account for children who die before reproductive age

Developed countries

Replacement TFR is about 2 (or lower)

• Industrialized

• Higher income

• Better health

Developing countries

Replacement TFR greater than 2.1

• Low industrialization

• Low income

• High child mortality

Factors that influence fertility rates

• Education level

• Women’s role in society (education, jobs)

• Culture

• Laws

• Financial incentives

Family planning

The practice of regulating the number or spacing of offspring through the use of birth control.

Role of women in fertility rates

• When women have the option to use family planning, crude birth rate (CBR) drops

• There is a correlation between higher education/affluence and lower birth rates

  • Educated and working women tend to have fewer children and at a later age

  • Educated and working women tend to have more access to family planning services

Life expectancy

The average number of years that an infant born in a particular year in a particular country can be expected to live, given the current average life span and death rate in that country.

Infant mortality

The number of deaths of children under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births.

Child mortality

The number of deaths of children under age 5 per 1,000 live births.

Factors in life expectancy

• Available health care

• Adequate food supply

• Potable drinking water

• Level of sanitation

• Level of pollution

  • Socioeconomic factors
    can affect groups within
    a country

U.S. Life expectancy

As of 2020 it’s 77.3 years