The rise of the childless woman

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Fertility rates have dropped sharply across advanced economies and increasingly in developing nations.

As illustrated below by Joseph Chamie, a consulting demographer and former director of the United Nations Population Division, most OECD countries are well below the benchmark for population stability of 2.1 children per woman, with some (like South Korea) at 0.7–0.8.

Global fertility rates

Drivers of decline in global fertility rates include:

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.