The worldwide decline in people having babies!

I blame our outdated system of morality for this. What's happened to people running amok with reckless abandon. And then becoming happily married.

Key Takeaways

Across 37 out of 38 OECD countries, fertility rates are below the 2.1 replacement level needed to sustain a population’s size.

While South Korea and Chile have the lowest fertility rates across the group, Israel and Mexico have the highest.

Fertility rates are collapsing faster than expected around the world.

In Mexico, years of declining fertility rates have pushed average births per woman to 1.9, down from 6.7 in 1950. Moreover, fertility rates in Costa Rica are lower than the U.S., standing at 1.3 births per woman.

This graphic shows total fertility rates in OECD countries compared to 1950, based on data from the United Nation’s World Population Prospects: The 2024 Revision.

A Closer Look at Declining Fertility Rates

Below, we show the total fertility rates of countries, which represents the average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime if current birth rates remain constant.

South Korea’s average fertility rate has plummeted from 6.1 births per woman in 1950 to 0.7 today, one of the fastest declines globally.

Fertility rates in the country fell below the replacement level more than 40 years ago and have steadily declined since. Among the factors driving down birth rates are high childbearing costs, workplace barriers, and a rigid work culture.

As we can see, Chile has the second-lowest total fertility rate in the OECD, at 1.1 births per woman, falling below Japan. In 1950, the total fertility rate was 4.8—higher than the majority of OECD countries.

Meanwhile, Italy faces the lowest fertility rate among European countries, at 1.2 births per woman, and France has the highest at 1.6.

Similarly, the U.S. sits on the higher end of the pack, with 1.6 births per woman, even as fertility rates hit record lows. Overall, only two OECD countries—Mexico and Israel—have higher fertility rates.