The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In the United States in 1800, the average woman of childbearing age would have seven children over the course of their lifetime. As factors such as technology, hygiene, medicine and education improved, women were having fewer children than before, reaching just two children per woman in 1940. This changed quite dramatically in the aftermath of the Second World War, rising sharply to over 3.5 children per woman in 1960 (children born between 1946 and 1964 are nowadays known as the 'Baby Boomer' generation, and they make up roughly twenty percent of todays US population). Due to the end of the baby boom and increased access to contraception, fertility reached it's lowest point in the US in 1980, where it was just 1.77. It did however rise to over two children per woman between 1995 and 2010, although it is expected to drop again by 2020, to just 1.78.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In 1900, Mexican women of childbearing age would go on to have approximately 6.8 children on average over the course of their lifetime, however this number dropped to 5.6 by 1920, partly because of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). The fertility rate increased again over the course of the next sixty years, reaching 6.8 in the 1950s and 1960s, during the worldwide baby boom. However, Mexico's fertility rate has been decreasing steadily since 1970, and is expected to reach it's lowest figure ever in 2020, where the fertility rate will be 2.1 children per woman.

In 1900, the fertility rate in turkey was just over 6.9 children per woman, meaning that the average woman born in Turkey in that year could expect to have approximately seven children over the course of their reproductive years. This figure would see little change for much of the first half of the 20 th century, falling only to 6.7 children by 1945. However, the fertility rate in Turkey would begin to see dramatic change in the years following the Second World War, as fertility would initially rise in the post-war, global baby boom, only to begin rapidly falling as Turkey began to modernize and access to contraception became more widespread in the country. Fertility would fall the fastest in the 1980s, as Turkey would experience high levels of urbanization and improvements in access to education for women. As a result of these developments, the fertility rate in Turkey would fall to approximately 2.6 children per woman by the turn of the century. This trend would continue steadily into the 21st century, and in 2020, Turkey has a (roughly) replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman.

In 1900, the total fertility rate of Peru was approximately 6.8 children per woman, meaning that women born in Peru at this time could expect to have just under seven children on average over the course of their reproductive years. Fertility gradually declined in Peru throughout the early 20th century, as modernization and declines in child mortality would continue in the country. However, Peru's fertility rate then gradually increased from the 1930s until the 1960s, due to a thriving economy and a series of populist policies implemented in this period, along with the global baby boom that followed the Second World War.

From the 1960s onwards, this trend would see a rapid reversal, as increased access to contraception, combined with an increasingly modernizing and urbanizing society, would lead to a sharp decline in fertility in the country. As a result, fertility would halve in just the last quarter of the 20th century alone, falling from six children per woman in 1975 to just three by 2000. This decline has continued steadily in recent decades, as Peru continues to undergo demographic shifts; as a result, the average woman born in Peru in 2020 can expect to have approximately 2.3 children over the course of her reproductive years, which is slightly above replacement level.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country would have throughout their reproductive years. In the United Kingdom in 1800, the average woman of childbearing age would have five children over the course of their lifetime. Over the next 35 years the fertility rate was quite sporadic, rising to over 5.5 in the 1810s and 1820s, then dropping to 4.9 by 1835. This was during and after the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 with the US, which was a time of increased industrialization, economic depression and high unemployment after the war. As things became more stable, and the 'Pax Britannica' (a period of relative, international peace and economic prosperity for the British Empire) came into full effect, the fertility rate plateaued until 1880, before dropping gradually until the First World War. The fertility rate then jumped from 2.6 to 3.1 children per woman between 1915 and 1920, as many men returned from the war. It then resumed it's previous trajectory in the interwar years, before increasing yet again after the war (albeit, for a much longer time than after WWI), in what is known as the 'Baby Boom'. Like the US, the Baby Boom lasted until around 1980, where it then fell to 1.7 children per woman, and it has remained around this number (between 1.66 and 1.87) since then.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In Germany in 1800, the average woman of childbearing age would have 5.4 children over the course of their lifetime. It remained around this number until the late 1820s, when it then dropped to just under five, which was a long-term effect of the Napoleonic Period in Europe. From this point until the end of the nineteenth century, Germany's fertility rate was rather sporadic, reaching it's lowest point in 1855 with an average of 4.6 births per woman, and it's highest point in 1875 (just after the foundation of the German Empire in 1871), with an average of 5.4 live births per woman. From the beginning of the twentieth century until the end of the Second World War, Germany's fertility rate dropped from around 5 children per woman in 1900, to 1.9 in 1945. The only time where the fertility rate increased was in the inter-war years. Like other countries heavily involved in the Second World War, Germany (both East and West) experienced a Baby Boom from the late 1940s to the late 1960s, however it then dropped to it's lowest point of just 1.3 children per woman by 1995, shortly after the re-unification of Germany. In recent years, Germany's fertility rate has gradually been increasing again, and is expected to reach 1.6 in 2020, its highest rate in over forty years.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. From 1800 to 1900, Norway's fertility rate fluctuated quite regularly, between 3.9 and 4.9 children per woman, and then in the first half of the twentieth century it declined gradually, falling to 1.9 in 1940. From 1940 until 1970, Norway experienced its 'baby boom' and the fertility rate rose to almost 3 children per woman in this time, before falling again to 1.7 in 1985. From this point onwards, the fertility rate has plateaued, between 1.7 and 1.9, and is expected to be 1.7 in 2020.

Today, globally, women of childbearing age have an average of approximately 2.2 children over the course of their lifetime. In pre-industrial times, most women could expect to have somewhere between five and ten live births throughout their lifetime; however, the demographic transition then sees fertility rates fall significantly. Looking ahead, it is believed that the global fertility rate will fall below replacement level in the 2050s, which will eventually lead to population decline when life expectancy plateaus. Recent decades Between the 1950s and 1970s, the global fertility rate was roughly five children per woman - this was partly due to the post-WWII baby boom in many countries, on top of already-high rates in less-developed countries. The drop around 1960 can be attributed to China's "Great Leap Forward", where famine and disease in the world's most populous country saw the global fertility rate drop by roughly 0.5 children per woman. Between the 1970s and today, fertility rates fell consistently, although the rate of decline noticeably slowed as the baby boomer generation then began having their own children. Replacement level fertility Replacement level fertility, i.e. the number of children born per woman that a population needs for long-term stability, is approximately 2.1 children per woman. Populations may continue to grow naturally despite below-replacement level fertility, due to reduced mortality and increased life expectancy, however, these will plateau with time and then population decline will occur. It is believed that the global fertility rate will drop below replacement level in the mid-2050s, although improvements in healthcare and living standards will see population growth continue into the 2080s when the global population will then start falling.

For most of the past two centuries, falling birth rates have been associated with societal progress. During the demographic transition, where pre-industrial societies modernize in terms of fertility and mortality, falling death rates, especially among infants and children, are the first major change. In response, as more children survive into adulthood, women have fewer children as the need to compensate for child mortality declines. This transition has happened at different times across the world and is an ongoing process, with early industrial countries being the first to transition, and Sub-Saharan African countries being the most recent to do so. Additionally, some Asian countries (particularly China through government policy) have gone through their demographic transitions at a much faster pace than those deemed more developed. Today, in countries such as Japan, Italy, and Germany, birth rates have fallen well below death rates; this is no longer considered a positive demographic trend, as it leads to natural population decline, and may create an over-aged population that could place a burden on healthcare systems.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. From 1850 until 1910, Italy's fertility rate dropped from 5.5 children per woman to 4.4, and over the next fifty years it dropped a lot more sharply, fluctuating along the way. By 1920 it had dropped to 3.3, as a result of the First World War and the economic turmoil that followed. The interwar years saw some fluctuation, but overall the fertility rate dropped to just 2.6 in 1945. In the 75 years that have followed the war, Italy's fertility rate has followed previous trends, where there are some periods of increase, but overall it declined. In the late 1900s Italy had one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, at just 1.2 children per woman in 200, although this has increased slightly in the past two decades, and is expected to be just over 1.3 in 2020.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. From 1800 to 1875, Sweden's fertility rate fluctuated quite regularly, rising from 4.1 children per woman in 1800 to it's maximum recorded figure of 5.1 in the early 1820s, and then dropping to 4.2 by 1870. It was at this point that the fertility rate began falling gradually, to just 1.7 births per woman in 1935. Sweden also experienced its own baby boom that lasted from the 1940s to the late 1960s, before falling to 1.6 in 1985. In the past few decades, Sweden's fertility rate has again fluctuated between 1.5 and 2 children per woman, due to varying economic circumstances and migrational factors. In 2020, it is estimated that the fertility rate of Sweden will be 1.9 children per woman.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In 1850, Switzerland's fertility rate was just above four children per woman, and it fluctuated between 3.4 and 4.1 over the next sixty years, before dropping to 1.8 in 1940. Between the early 1940s and late 1960s, Switzerland experienced its 'baby boom' (although it did decrease slightly in the 1950s), before dropping to 1.5 in 1980, and it has plateaued around this number until today.

In 1900, the region of present-day North Korea had a fertility rate of approximately 6.1 children per woman, meaning a woman born in North Korea in the given year could expect to have just over six children throughout the course of her reproductive years. This rate would remain largely consistent until the 1940s, however, the middle of the century would see dramatic rises and falls in fertility, as Japan's annexation of the Korean peninsula in the Second World War, and the subsequent Korean War in the early-1950s saw large scale socioeconomic turmoil in the peninsula. Because of this, fertility halved to 3.1 between 1940 and 1950, before spiking to 5.1 by the 1960s.

North Korea's fertility rate fluctuated in the decades following these wars, as the country recovered and came to grips with its new structure; while the total fertility rate began upon a more consistent trajectory of decline from the 1980s onwards. In 2020, it is estimated that the average woman born in North Korea can expect to have approximately 1.9 children over the course of their reproductive years.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. From 1840 until 1910, Russia's fertility rate was relatively consistent, remaining between 6.7 and 7.4 children per woman during this time. Between 1910 and 1920, the fertility rate drops sharply as a result of the First World War and Russian Revolution (for individual years of WWI, the fertility rate dropped as low as 3.4). From 1920 to 1930 the fertility rate returns above 6 again, however a gradual decline then begins, and by the end of the Second World War, the Russian segment of the Soviet Union's fertility rate was below 2. The population experienced a relatively small 'baby boom' in the two decades following the war, but then the fertility rate dropped again, most sharply between 1990 and 1995 at the end of the Soviet Union's reign. Russia's fertility rate reached its lowest point in 2000 when it fell to just 1.25 children per woman, but in the past two decades it has risen again, and is expected to reach 1.8 in 2020.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In 1860, Canadian women of childbearing age would go on to have 5.7 children on average, however this number dropped significantly by 1925, where it was just 3.3. It then plateaued in the late 1920s, before dropping again, to 2.7 in 1940. Similarly to the United States, Canada experienced a large baby boom after the Second World War, rising to 3.9 in 1960, before declining again into the 1980s, and then plateauing between 1.5 and 1.7 until today. Canada's fertility rate is expected to be 1.5 children per woman in 2020.

In 1900, the fertility rate in the region of present-day South Korea was six children per woman, meaning that the average woman born in South Korea in that year could expect to have six children over the course of their reproductive years. This number began to fluctuate in the 1930s, when the Japanese administration (the Korean peninsula had been annexed by Japan in 1910) promoted fertility as part of the war effort, before fertility dropped below 5.2 births per woman in the aftermath of the war. It then increased above 6.3 in the 1950s due to the devastation and mass-displacement caused by the Korean War. As stability returned to the region, South Korea's fertility rate would fall sharply throughout the remainder of the century, as modernization, urbanization, and the implementation of family planning programs would see fertility fall to just over 1.5 children per woman by 1990.

Sex-selective abortion and gender ratios Abortion was illegal in South Korea between 1953 and 2020, although it was permitted in some cases from 1973 onward. Despite this, these laws were rarely enforced, and sex-selective abortion became widespread following advancements in ultrasound technology. In many Asian societies, it was often preferred to have male children as they were viewed as being better long-term providers for their parents and they would carry on the family name. In South Korea in the early 1990s, the practice of sex-selective abortion became so widespread that the gender ratio at birth was 114 males for every 100 females (reportedly as high as 125 in some cities), compared to the historical and natural average of approximately 105 males per 100 females. The government then prohibited doctors from revealing the gender of unborn babies to the parents in 1987, and introduced more severe penalties in 1994, in an attempt to revert this trend. The gender imbalance then reduced in the following decades, and has been at 106 males per 100 females since the 2010s (roughly the natural average). Abortion rights in South Korea were expanded in 2021.

Lowest in the world? Despite government initiatives aimed at increasing fertility, including financial incentives, South Korea's fertility rate has continued to fall in recent years, and today is at around half of replacement level. In 2020, it is estimated that the average woman born in South Korea will have just over one child over the course of their reproductive years. Some critics cite economic factors, such as high education and housing costs, for the reason that young couples are postponing marriage and having families; today, South Korea has the lowest adolescent fertility rate, and the lowest overall fertility rate in the Asia Pacific region. Due to the current trajectory of South Korea's fertility rate, in January 2021, it was announced that the South Korean population experienced a natural decline for the first time in it's history.

The total fertility rate of Brazil at the end of the nineteenth century was approximately 6.3 births per woman; this means that the average woman of reproductive age would have roughly 6 children in their lifetime. Brazil's fertility rate then decreased and plateaued at just under six children per women in the first half of the twentieth century, before increasing slightly in the 1940s; this increase coincides with the worldwide baby boom that was experienced in the aftermath of the Second World War, during which time Brazil's economy and political landscape stabilized. From the late 1960s onwards, Brazil's fertility rate went into decline, and dropped by approximately three children per woman in the next three decades. This decline is similar to that of many other developing nations during this time, where access to contraception, improved education and declining infant and child mortality rates contributed to lower fertility rate across the globe. In the past fifteen years, Brazil's fertility rate has continued to decrease (albeit, at a much slower rate than in previous decades) and in 2020, it is expected to be at just 1.7 children per woman.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. From 1800 until today, Poland's fertility rate has gradually declined, however it was very sporadic along the way. Poland's fertility rate reached it's highest point in the early 1860s, where it was 6.4 children per woman. Between 1795 and the end of the First World War there was no official country of Poland, and this is a tumultuous time in the area's history, and many different factors would have affected the fertility rate. In the Second World War, Poland's lost a higher percentage of people than any other nation in the world, and the fertility rate dropped to just over 3 children per woman during this time. Poland did experience a brief 'baby boom' during the two decades after the war, before the rate fell to it's lowest point ever in 2005, where it was below 1.3 children per woman, and this number is expected to rise slightly by 2020, to 1.4.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. From 1800 until 1865, Japan's fertility rate grew quite gradually, from 4.1 children per woman, to 4.8. From this point the fertility rate drops to 3.6 over the next ten years, as Japan became more industrialized. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Japan's fertility rate grew again, and reached it's highest recorded point in the early 1920s, where it was 5.4 children per woman. Since this point it has been gradually decreasing until now, although it did experience slight increases after the Second World War, and in the early 1970s. In recent decades Japan's population has aged extensively, and today, Japan has the second oldest population and second highest life expectancy in the world (after Monaco). In contrast to this, Japan has a very low birth rate, and it's fertility rate is expected to fall below 1.4 children per woman in 2020.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In the second half of the nineteenth century in Spain, the fertility rate fluctuated, but overall it had decreased from 5.1 children per woman in 1850 to 4.7 in 1905. From 1905 until 1935 the fertility decline followed a steady trajectory, falling from 4.7 to 3.5 births per woman during this time. Between 1935 and 1940, the Spanish Civil War caused the fertility rate to drop by 0.7 children per woman. The rate dropped again in the 1940s and 50s, before Spain experienced a baby boom, much like the rest of Western Europe, in the mid 1900s. Compared with the rest of Europe, Spain's baby boom was relatively small, although the population did not begin to decrease again until the late 1970s. Spain had one of the lowest fertility rates in the world at the end of the 1900s, and at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the fertility rate was at it's lowest point ever, reaching just 1.2 children per woman in 2000. This number has increased slightly in the past two decades, and is expected to be just over 1.3 in 2020.