Study: Western women not having 'enough children'
The survey is the most complete ever carried out in the world, with samples and data collected in 146 countries. It is the work of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, of the Gates Foundation. Between 1950 and 2017, the global population grew by 197%. Niger is the most "prolific" country; Cyprus has fewest children per woman.
Washington (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Women in 91 countries do not have enough children for generational change; on the contrary, the high fertility rate of women in 104 countries is the cause of a true "baby boom". This is stated in a study published in The Lancet, one of the most quoted in the medical field. The first group is located in Europe and the Americas (north and south), while the second is in Africa and Asia.
The survey was conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, based at the University of Washington and created by the Gates Foundation. It is one of the most comprehensive pieces of research ever done on the health of the population worldwide. In all, it involved more than 3,000 scientists from 146 countries, who collected billions of data.
The period analyzed is the years between 1950 and 2017. According to scientists, in this time the global population grew by 197%, from 2.6 to 7.6 billion. Life expectancy has also improved, especially for women who now live an average of 76 years (compared to 53 in 1950); for men, on the other hand, it went from the 48 years of 1950 to the 71 in 2017.
From the samples collected, it emerged that Cyprus is the country with the lowest birth rate in the world (one child per woman), while Niger holds the record with seven children on average for each woman. Among the most "prolific" countries, also Mali, Chad and Afghanistan, with six children.
According to Ali Mokdad, a professor at the Institute, the most important factor in determining the world population is the education of women. The relationship, she explains, has an inversely proportional relationship: "The more a woman is educated, the more she dedicates to formation by delaying the time of pregnancy, and the less children she will have".
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