Fertility rates are at record lows around the world, reshaping communities and even forcing some schools to close. In 1950, the global average was around five live births per woman. Today, that number has more than halved to 2.2, and in England and Wales, it’s closer to 1.4. The UK’s falling birth rate reflects what the United Nations has described as ‘a global fertility slump’.

In this episode of LSE iQ, Anna Bevan asks: Why are we having fewer children?

From a closed down primary school in South London to demographic shifts unfolding across the globe, this episode explores the profound social, economic and personal forces behind declining fertility.

Professor Berkay Ozcan explains how countries from Turkey to Chile have experienced some of the steepest drops in modern history, and why the timing of relationships, women’s careers, the economy and uncertainty about the future all play a role.

Professor Emily Jackson, an expert in law and reproductive rights, examines the limits of governmental policies - from baby bonuses to China’s new tax on condoms - and explains why restrictive reproductive laws often have unintended consequences.

Zoe Noble, the founder of We Are Childfree, discusses the growing global community of people choosing not to have children. She shares how one intrusive taxi ride helped spark a movement, and why blaming childfree women for falling birth rates misses the real issues.

Is a shrinking population a problem or simply part of the natural ebb and flow of society? And what would it take to create a world people want to bring children into?

Join us as we dig into the data, the politics and the personal choices behind one of the most important demographic stories of our time.

Contributors:

Berkay Ozcan, Emily Jackson and Zoe Noble

Associated research

The effects of unemployment on fertility (2021)