U.S. Only Wealthy Nation With Total Fertility Rate To Maintain Work Force, Economic Prosperity, Report Says

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 26 Aug 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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The US is the only nation that is a "major economic power" with a total fertility rate high enough to maintain its work force and economic prosperity as the population ages, according to a... Population Reference Bureau report released on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most other wealthy nations' total fertility rates are declining as the population of older, nonworking citizens expands. This expansion could lead to a drop in economic growth, according to the report. Attaining or maintaining prosperity within a country usually is associated with a total fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman. According to the annual report -- which uses data from governments and global institutions -- the total fertility rate averages 2.0 for the U.S.; 3.0 for India; 1.9 for France; 1.7 for the United Kingdom; 1.6 for China; 1.4 for Russia; 1.3 for Japan, Germany and Spain; and 1.2 for South Korea, Taiwan, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Fritz, Wall Street Journal, 8/23). However, despite the lowered total fertility rates in many countries and U.N. projections that the world's population might begin to decline in 45 years, the report says global population growth will continue (Dunphy, AP/Yahoo! News, 8/23).

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