Women in the developing world now give birth to fewer than three children on average, according to a major United Nations study on fertility.
The average number of births has fallen from 5.9 children in the 1970s to 2.9 in the 1990s, it says.
In 20 developing countries, births have now fallen beneath the number needed to maintain current population levels.
The UN Population Division's World Fertility Report says improved contraception is behind the fall.
"Between 1970 and 2000, the world population experienced a major and unprecedented reduction of fertility levels, driven mostly by a decline in developing countries," it says.
Planned families
China, which has a strict one-child per family policy, saw the most dramatic drop - with an average of four fewer children per woman over the last 30 years.
Algeria, Iran, Mexico, Thailand, Tunisia and Turkey have also reported significant declines, the report says.
But in 21 sub-Saharan African countries, fertility has declined slowly or not at all.
Those countries recording large falls in birth rates have governments that have decided to promote the use of contraceptives to modify fertility levels.
"A tremendous increase has taken place in the use of family planning," the report says, adding that over half of all women in the world who are married or in some form of union now use contraceptives, compared with 38% during the 1970s.
The developing world has seen a particularly sharp increase - from 27% using contraceptives in the 1970s to 40% by the 1990s.
In both the developed and developing world, women are increasingly choosing to get married later and to postpone having children.
The average age for marriage for women is now 23, and 27 for men.
Interesting point to go along with some of the doomsayers about the declining birth rates in the developed world putting us at a long term disadvantage.
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Those doomsayers you refer to are crazy, demographic transition happens in developed countries, and as other countries become developed they go through it too. It's nothing magical.
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Good. Seriously, when you think about it, a decreasing population will allow for less competition for limited resources, which will allow for decreased poverty. Hopefully.
Of course it could also cause massive labor shortages.
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Stuart Mackey wrote:Does this take into account Africa's HIV problem?
Why would it need to?
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oh nevermind I see that they go on rambling about how populations in Africa aren't dropping in the second part.
Brotherhood of the Monkey @( !.! )@ To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. ~Steve Prefontaine Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
Another factoid they did not point out in developing countries is the fact that women are waiting longer before having children. Thus, when they do start a family, they have fewer children than a woman in the sub-Sahara who got married at 16 and had her first child within a year.
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Darth Wong wrote:Historically, there are four mechanisms of population control in human society:
Starvation
Disease
War
Contraception
We in the developing world use #4. Africa uses #1, #2, and #3. I prefer our method.
Why isn't abstinence in that list?
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Alyrium Denryle wrote:Good. Seriously, when you think about it, a decreasing population will allow for less competition for limited resources, which will allow for decreased poverty. Hopefully.
Of course it could also cause massive labor shortages.
That's what robots are for.
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Darth Wong wrote:Actually, that's a form of contraception.
Meaning to say that if I don't get to fuck, I'm already contracepting? Oh...
"DO YOU WORSHIP HOMOSEXUALS?" - Curtis Saxton (source) shroom is a lovely boy and i wont hear a bad word against him - LUSY-CHAN! Shit! Man, I didn't think of that! It took Shroom to properly interpret the screams of dying people - PeZook Shroom, I read out the stuff you write about us. You are an endless supply of morale down here. :p - an OWS street medic Pink Sugar Heart Attack!
"
- PeZook
