fertility rate

Definition

The fertility rate is the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime in a specific population. It is a crucial demographic indicator that helps understand population growth or decline.

Analogy

Imagine the fertility rate as a snapshot of a high school graduating class's future family sizes. Just as the yearbook might predict most likely to succeed or class clown, the fertility rate predicts the average size of families that generation will have, influencing whether the town (population) grows bustling and crowded or quiet and sparse over time.

Related terms

Population Growth: The increase in the number of individuals in a population, often influenced by the fertility rate.

Demography: The scientific study of human populations, including their sizes, compositions, distributions, densities, growth, and other characteristics.

Birth Rate: The number of live births per 1,000 people in a population in a given year, closely related but not identical to fertility rate