IBGE: Fertility rate in Latin America fell faster than in Europe

The demographic transition in Latin America occurred much faster than in Europe, according to an analysis by Izabel Marri, manager of Population Projections and Estimates at IBGE. While European countries took between 100 and 150 years to reduce their fertility rates, Latin America carried out this process in just 40 and 50 years. During this period, the region went from an average of six children per woman to around two or two and a half children. The phenomenon, technically called fertility transition, was not restricted to Brazil - it occurred in practically all countries in the world, with different intensities and rhythms.

Among the main factors that explain this drop, Izabel Marri highlights the greater exposure of women to the job market, the urbanization of societies and access to contraceptive methods. According to her, decisions about whether or not to have children are, at the same time, behavioral and cultural, but are also linked to structural issues, such as the stability of marital unions. "People get married, but they also get married a lot. It's very easy for couples to separate these days," he said. She highlighted that the existence of a stable couple makes the decision to have children easier, even if it is not a determining factor.

Another relevant element is the postponement of maternity. The data shows that women have increasingly postponed the beginning of their reproductive lives, prioritizing studies and entering the job market. In some cases, this postponement results in women ending the reproductive period without having had children. "We don't know if these women end the reproductive period without children because they didn't want to have them, or if, for life reasons, the desired children were not realized", he explained.

Izabel Marri clarified that, although she was referring mainly to Brazil, the fertility transition is a global phenomenon. Currently, there are still countries with high fertility rates, especially on the African continent, but the trend is also downward in these regions. European countries, in turn, went through this process more gradually, after the Industrial Revolution, having more time to adapt to demographic changes.

WW Special
Presented by William Waack, the program is shown on Sundays, at 10pm, on all CNN Brasil platforms.

Discover the CNN Brasil Members Club on YouTube. By registering, you guarantee early access to the entire edition on Fridays, as well as exclusive cuts and behind-the-scenes content from the program.

The texts generated by artificial intelligence on CNN Brasil are made based on video cuts from the newspapers in its programming. All information is investigated and checked by journalists. The final text is also reviewed by the CNN journalism team. Click here to find out more.

Source: CNN