Economic and Social Factors affecting Fertility rates

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Economic- MEDC

Economic- LEDC

  • People have more control over their lives and the economic requirements for children have been removed.
  • The availability of contraception means that parents can decided when and how many children they will have.
  • There are pension schemes and care facilities.
  • Many families will have both adults in paid employment.
  • Infant mortality rates are low due to development of healthcare systems and vaccinations.
  • Compulsory education means that children are economically dependent on their parents until 16.
  • Most women are in employment, so therefore having a child means paying childcare or giving up employment.
  • Most parents want their children to have a standard of living at least equal to their own and therefore small families have become the norm.
  • Women pursuing careers often have their children much later, thereby reducing the possibility of having a large family.
  • Fertility levels are highest in LEDC's.
  • Children are seen as an addition to the workforce and potential breadwinners.
  • In rural areas, families often live as part of an extended family and practise subsistence farming.
  • Some of the children will work on the farms while others supplement the family income by finding employment in the growing urban areas.
  • State pensions are rarely available and the duty of caring for the elderly usually falls on the children.
  • Infant Mortality rates are high and so it is necessary for parents to have a larger family in order to ensure some will survive to adulthood.

Social- MEDC

Social- LEDC

  • Has low TFRs and an ageing population which means that the number of potential parents is reduced, leading to further reductions in the overall number of births.
  • Women have a higher value in society and so are well educated. Better educated women generally are able to exercise more control over their reproductive lives, including delaying marriage and childbearing.
  • The availability and acceptance of contraception has had a dramatic impact on fertility on MEDC's.
  • Female education is far from universal- women with at least a secondary level education eventually give birth to one-third to one-half as much children as women with no formal education.
  • An Ethiopian woman with no education has 6.1 children on average but an educated Ethiopian women with secondary or higher education has 2.0 on average.
  • Not as accepting of contraception due to position of women in society- In Africa, 28% of married women use contraception.

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