Fertility

According to the 2010 Revision, total fertility—that is, the average number of children a woman would bear if fertility rates remained unchanged during her lifetime—is 2.52 children per woman in 2005- 2010 at the world level (table II.1). This average masks the heterogeneity of fertility levels among countries and regions (figure 2). In 2005-2010, 75 countries or areas (44 of them located in the more developed regions) have fertility levels below 2.1 children per woman, that is, below replacement level1, whereas 121 countries or areas (all of which are located in the less developed regions) have total fertility levels at or above 2.1 children per woman. Among these 121 countries, 26 have total fertility levels at or above 5 children per woman, 25 of which are least developed countries (table II.2).

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development