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Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

Definition

The total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime, given current birth rates.

Analogy

Think of TFR as a snapshot of a roller coaster ride. It doesn't show you every twist and turn (or in this case, every birth or death), but it gives you an overall idea of what the ride looks like - how many kids, on average, a woman will have in her lifetime.

Related terms

Birth Rate: The number of live births per 1,000 people in a population in a year.

Replacement Level Fertility: The total fertility rate—the average number of children born per woman—at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next, without migration. This value is roughly 2.1 children per woman for most countries.

Demographic Transition Model: A model that describes population change over time. It involves transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from pre-industrial to industrialized economic system.