Conclusion

Fertility levels have undergone remarkable changes throughout the world since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. This report focused on fertility and its correlates at the extremes: countries with very low fertility and those with very high fertility. High fertility is increasingly a characteristic of the least developed countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Low fertility, previously a characteristic of countries in Europe, has become far more widespread in other regions, with some countries experiencing very rapid fertility transitions at lower levels of human development than was the case historically.

Related Subject(s): Women and Gender Issues