World Population Day

The number of births is determined by two key factors: the number of women in their reproductive age and the average number of children those women have (total fertility rate, TFR). Globally, total fertility rates started to decline in the 1960s. Factors contributing to this decline include: Increased access to education , particularly for women. Economic factors, such as the Cost of raising children . Shifts in societal norms and values regarding family size .

As the world continues to experience growing demographic diversity, with more countries expected to experience rapidly declining fertility rates, alongside ethno-nationalist impulses and “overpopulation” concerns in places with persistently high fertility rates, we must exercise maximum caution – and maximum optimism. Leaders would be wise to keep the last 60 years of history in mind as they deliberate policies that might, if poorly designed, be ineffective or yield unintended consequences, with only temporary impacts but potentially terrible human rights costs. They must also recognize the legitimate concerns of young people, who need not only conditions enabling them to make free, informed reproductive choices, but also hope for a future in which those choices are supported (Gessen, 2014). Young people overwhelmingly report worries and uncertainty about their futures. Many expect to experience worse outcomes than their parents did. Their concerns about climate change, economic instab...