Falling fertility rate is turning into a global crisis
According to the "2025 State of World Population Report" published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under the title "The Real Fertility Crisis", a large proportion of women and men around the world cannot reach their goals of having the desired number of children.
The survey, conducted by UNFPA and polling firm YouGov with more than 14,000 people in 14 countries, representing more than 37 percent of the global population, showed that individuals often have to adjust the ideal number of children they want to have in their lifetime.
Approximately 18 percent of reproductive-age adults surveyed said they believe they won't be able to have the number of children they want. Eleven percent of reproductive-age adults said they're having fewer children than they want, and 7 percent said they're having more.
Among those over 50, who are considered past their reproductive age, 31 percent said they had fewer children than they wanted, while 12 percent said they had more.
Based on these data, the report determined that a significant portion of the world's population of over 8.2 billion cannot reach fertility targets.
On the occasion of World Population Day, the current status of the world population and regional growth and decline trends were compiled from the UNFPA 2025 State of World Population Report.
In the last 50 years, average life expectancy has increased to 73 years.Accordingly, the increase in life expectancy and the decrease in fertility rates on a global scale are causing the world population to age.
According to a UNFPA report, there will be 809 million people aged 65 and over in the world by 2023. This number is projected to reach 1.6 billion by 2050 and 2.4 billion by the end of the century.
While aging has long been considered a burden on social security systems and healthcare spending, the report also identifies this group as a significant "economic contributor." Accordingly, people over 50 contributed $45 trillion to the global economy in 2020.
While the highest proportion of elderly populations is seen in developed countries, the fastest aging trend is occurring in developing countries. It is emphasized that these countries need to prepare their healthcare, retirement, and social support systems for aging.
Over the last 50 years, life expectancy has increased from 59 to 73 years. Parallel to this development, fertility rates have also declined significantly in many countries. These two factors, combined, are leading to an increase in the aging population.
Individuals cannot achieve a standard of living suitable for reproduction.“Reproductive agency,” as defined in the report, includes not only the right not to want but also the capacity to want to have children and to exercise that decision.
UNFPA emphasized that the root cause of this crisis is the lack of suitable environments for individuals to realize their "reproductive agenda." Accordingly, it emphasized that people should not only have the right to have children, but also the capacity to make this decision in a timely, informed, and free manner.
The report found that individuals' decisions to have children are limited unless this right is supported by economic stability, equitable social environments and quality healthcare.
UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem, in her article for the report, argued that policymakers should focus on creating social and economic environments where individuals can realize their fertility choices, rather than interventions aimed at reducing or increasing fertility rates.
The report, which noted that Africa leads global population growth, noted the varying fertility rates in Asia. In Europe, it was determined that population decline and aging trends continue.
According to UNFPA data, there are an average of 4.3 children per woman in West and Central Africa, and 4 children per woman in East and Southern Africa. These rates are reportedly well above the global average of 2.2.
The report noted that approximately 40 percent of the population in these regions is under the age of 14, and that an extremely young population structure predominates in the region.
The report underlined that the proportion of elderly people is increasing in developed countries, while Africa, with its young population, is of critical importance for the future global workforce.
The report found that low fertility and aging populations, particularly in countries such as India, China, Korea and Japan, limited the growth rate, while noting that a slight growth trend was observed in Indonesia, the Philippines and some Southeast Asian countries.
Although the fertility rate per woman in the Europe and Central Asia region was recorded as 2.1, this rate generally varied between 1.3 and 1.6 in European countries.
The report stated that countries such as Germany, Italy and Russia have a declining workforce and aging population, and that these countries face difficulties due to these reasons.
People are forced to change their ideal number of children.The report revealed that the main reasons why it is difficult for individuals to achieve their fertility goals are economic insecurity, lack of access to healthcare, inability to find suitable partners and gender-based division of labor in the household.
The report noted that 39 percent of the 10,000 participants who had or wanted to have children said that financial problems influenced their decision to have children, while 21 percent said unemployment and job insecurity, and 19 percent said problems related to the real estate market, influenced their decisions on this matter.
The report emphasized that the unequal sharing of household chores, especially among individuals under the age of 40, also causes fertility goals to be unfulfilled, and determined that women experience approximately twice as many problems in this regard compared to men.
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