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Sarah,
The replacement fertility rate in
developed countries is 2.1. This means
that the average couple needs to have 2.1 kids to maintain the population. (otherwise the population of their country will decrease)
Recently, America’s fell below
the replacement rate and now rests at 1.9.
According The Economist, there
are two main reasons for the drop:
1. Migrants
can’t find work in America and are returning home. Because migrants usually have larger than
average families, their exodus brings down the average
2. The
recession will not go away. People are
poor and babies are expensive. Accordingly,
less people are having kids.
For some countries, a lower fertility rate is a big
deal. Japan and Russia are both losing
population and their population is aging.
This is less of a big deal in America because a constant influx of
immigrants keep the population young and growing.
Source: The Economist, “Virility
Symbols” 8/11/2012
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