To the other extreme a country may be severely underpopulated, with a severely low birth rate. This means the country would not have enough people to develop and utilise the country’s resources, causing a population decline. This occurred in Romania in 1947 when Romania birth rate had fallen to 1.4 per 1000 due to famine, on demand abortions, the emancipation of women and cramped living conditions. By 1966 the communist government to extreme measures to raise the birth rate such as banning abortions, making divorce impossible, banning contraceptives and taxing those over 25 without children. It worked and by 1983 the birth rate had risen to 14.3 per 1000. In the 1980’s more methods were taken such as forced medical exams for women every month, lowering the marriage age to 15 and higher taxes for those without children. Though after the downfall of communism in 1989 the birth rate fell to around 1.3 per 1000, causing the population to go back into decline.
The birth rates of a country can also be affected by the economic state of a country. During recessions the number of children born per year usually declines. This is due to couples not being able to afford to care for more children due to being made redundant, receiving a pay cut or not wanting to take the financial risks involved with raising a child. As the per capita of income fell in the USA so did the number of births. In 2007 the average income was around $41,000 and 4.3 million births, in 2010 the average income fell to $39700 and only 4 million births. Women are also having children at an older age so they can establish their careers and become more financially secure. In the USA the birth rate among women in their 40’s rose to 10.2 per 1000 births as their careers are more stable and they are more financially secure.
Fertility rates of a country can also be affected by social and cultural practices of a country. This includes religion, education of woman, and the socially accepted number of children a couple should have. Religious beliefs have a strong influence on the number of children in family. Catholicism in the Philippines means birth rates have continued to remain high at 24.5 per 1000. The religious beliefs in the Philippines means there are few abortions, little use of contraceptives and younger married couples. The education of woman is also a huge factor in birth rates of a region. According to studies the more educated a woman is the less children she is likely to have (with a few abnormalities). As more and more women are going to study at a tertiary level the birth rate of many countries are expected to decline into a negative population growth. As this birth rate declines so does the number of children that is socially accepted to have by a couple.
There are a variety of different reasons that affect the birth rates of a country. Though many governments are trying to raise and stabilise the population growth rate, the average birth rate is continuing to decline. This is predominately due to the increased number of educated women, the decline of religion as a major part of people’s life and the current state of the economy.
