The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned of the “unprecedented decline” in the worldwide fertility rate.
According to BBC, a new report by the UNFPA, the UN agency for reproductive rights, the soaring cost of living and bringing up a child has become a major reason behind the declining fertility rate.
UNFPA surveyed 14,000 people in 14 different countries all around the globe about their fertility intentions, and one in five (20%) of the respondents said that they either haven't had or don't expect to have their desired number of children.
The countries participated in the survey were South Korea, Thailand, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, US, India, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria which makes one third of the global population.
People who were surveyed included a mix of low, middle and high-income countries with low and high fertility.
‘Unprecedented decline in fertility rates’
Dr Natalia Kanem, head of UNFPA, said, "The world has begun an unprecedented decline in fertility rates. Most people surveyed want two or more children. Fertility rates are falling in large part because many feel unable to create the families they want. And that is the real crisis.”
“Calling this a crisis, saying it's real. That's a shift, I think. Overall, there's more undershooting than overshooting of fertility ideals,” added demographer Anna Rotkirch, who has researched fertility intentions in Europe.
Furthermore, among all contries, 39% of people said financial while 12% of people cited infertility or difficulty conceiving as a reson for not having a child or desired number of children.
Kanem noted, “Right now, what we're seeing is a lot of rhetoric of catastrophe, either overpopulation or shrinking population, which leads to this kind of exaggerated response, and sometimes a manipulative response.”
She highlighted that 40 years ago countries like China, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Turkey were worried about overpopulation, and by 2015 they wanted to increase fertility.
Experts urged that the countries should avoid “enacting any kind of panicky policies” to deal with the population issue.
