Unit 3.7 ~ Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

TFR & Infant Mortality

  • Total Fertility Rate (TFR): avg. number of children a woman in a population will bear throughout her lifetime

    • Higher TFR = higher birth rate, higher pop. growth rate (generally)

  • Replacement Level Fertility: the TFR required to offset deaths in a pop. and keep pop. size stable

    • About 2.1 in developed countries (replace mom & dad)
    • Higher in less developed countries due to higher infant mortality

  • Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): number of deaths of children under 1 year per 1,000 people in a pop.

    • Higher in less developed countries due to lack of access to: health care, clean water, enough food

  • Higher IMR = higher TFR, due to families having replacement children

    Global TFR Infant Mortality

Factors in IMR Decline

  • Access to clean water
  • Access to healthcare (hospitals, vaccines, vitamins & supplements for moms &  babies)
  • More reliable food supply

Factors That Affect TFR

  • Development (Affluence): more developed, or wealthy nations have a lower TFR than less developed nations
    • More educational access for women
    • More econ. opportunity for women
    • Higher access to family planning education & contraceptives
    • Later age of first pregnancy
    • Less need for children to provide income through agricultural labor
  • Gov. Policy: can play a huge role in fertility by coercive (forceful) or noncoercive (encouraging) policies
    • Forced or vol. sterilization
    • China’s 1 (now 2) child policy
    • Tax incentives to have fewer children
    • Microcredits or loans to women without children to start businesses

Affluence & TFR

  • More access to contraceptives & family planning
  • Ed./econ. opportunities require time, leaving less for raising children
  • Lower IMR = lower TFR

Female Education & TFR

  • More education = fewer unplanned pregnancies
  • More education = more job. opportunities for women
    • Alternative to marrying young