The west is missing something when it comes to fertility rates

[alani123]

It's been noticed worldwide that as a country's real GDP per capita grows, the birth rate goes down.

So there's an inverse correlation between births and purchasing power for the local population:

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_and_fertility

What's your theory on why that might be happening?

My view on the matter is that while expectations for living standards rise as an economy grows, the advantages of a better performing economy rarely trickle down to the working class population. And under this environment, bringing up a child becomes a huge responsibility for a family. Let alone two or three...

Think about it, nearly any government in the west has the resources to sustain a worthy public education and university system, free healthcare for all children and even free amenities like sports for kids, after school occupation...But our governments simply chose not to.

From giving birth to taking your kid for medical checkups, medicine, all the way to complementary tutoring, sports and college, much of the financial burden if not all of it, falls to the parents. So instead of having many kids and then having to choose between them on who's going to go to college, or do sports, or even have regular medical checkups, people opt to only have one child or even none. And this is a phenomenon even in the countries with a more socially conscious state. Even in Scandinavia which is supposedly praised for its social system, people still have to rely on for-profit companies for basic stuff like health, medicine, transport, childcare etc. that their children need. Which makes the costs of having many children while maintaining a decent living standard for all of the family prohibitive. And yet we get politicians to comment on declining birthrates all the time...

Seriously, if any politician honestly wants to contribute to birth rates, they should make all people feel like they can rely on public infrastructure again. Get the state to invest in anything needed to bring up a child and make access to all these services necessary to bring up a child free and uninhibited. You'll see then how people once again feel comfortable to bring up more children.

[DeathAngel]

The countries in the chart with high fertility rates are basically third world countries. Low level education, low IQ, poverty, not being able to access contraception obviously contributes to the high fertility rates. In the western world we think before we decide to start a family, it is a bog commitment.

[Hispo]

The countries in the chart with high fertility rates are basically third world countries. Low level education, low IQ, poverty, not being able to access contraception obviously contributes to the high fertility rates. In the western world we think before we decide to start a family, it is a bog commitment.

I believe it mostly has to do with the economics and the financial stability of people, when one cannot secure ones financial well being, then I assume it is best to have as many productive-aged people in the familyas possible,  so they all can contribute in the home. In the case of the so called first world countries, since economy is more stable and people do not necessarily depend on their own family to make a living, then people delay the moment they decided to marry or have children.

Ironically, the more children there is in a developing nation, it seems it would take more effort for the nation to raise from their status of "third world country"

[Broly46]

... real GDP per capita grows, the birth rate goes down...

I won't say much, living standard goes up, fertility goes down, it has been a statistically norms since 1933 too, but why it is a big issues now? I say it is crappy data! What do you failed to see is population still grow dramatically in the last 100 years! But nobody want to mention the staggering 8 billions population! They think stagnanting fertility is a big deal, so all people must be normal and breed like rabbits making more and more numbers goes up, making more and more *money!

Why living standard goes up fertility goes down? Use your brain to think! Who wanna be a mum and goes through the pain of giving birth, work hard to fund the child everyday expense, for absolutely no conditions!? Just yolo and live the life minus making the world goes to unlivable hellhole.