Global fertility rate is close to falling below replacement level for the first time
The rate has dropped from five births per woman in 1950 to 2.25 today, and is projected to cross the 2.1 replacement threshold by the late 2040s, possibly sooner. Much of the world is already well below it — South Korea's rate stands at 0.7, and Chile's fell below one birth per woman for the first time in 2025.
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