Fertility

Relationship with death rates is important. High birth rates to counter high death rates of infant mortality. Improvments in healthcare, sanitation and diet have led to a drop in infant mortality therefore reducing birth rates.

Factors affecting fertility:

• Tradition and Culture: In some parts demand for high rates of reproduction are high
• Education for women: with education comes knowledge of birth control, more employment opportunities and wider choices
• Youthful population: larger number of young women ensure population growth even if births per women are low
• Social class: fertility decreases from lower to higher classes
• Religion: Islam and Roman Catholic Church oppose use of artificial birth control  
• Economy: LEDC's children are economic asset, viewed as producers rather than consumers - MEDC's is reversed

• Have the fastese rate of population growth and greatest fall in fertility rates.
• Average growth rate in an LEDC is 1.8%
• Africa and Middle East its 2.3%
• Fertility rates are declining in LEDC's
• traditional religious views are a barrier to low fertility

• growth is slow
• fertility required to maintain population level (2.12 children per woman)
• 50 nations already below this level
• governments are starting to act
• Japan have £50million to stop fall in fretility
• european countries have incentives to increase birth rates with financial benefits offered for a third child