The global fertility rate is plummeting! Statistics from "Our World in Data" shows that over the past 50 years, the global fertility rate has fallen by half, and the current global average fertility rate is about 2.3 children per woman.

Taipei, Taiwan (Merxwire) - Since 1950, the global fertility rate has been declining! "Our World in Data" quotes data from the United Nations. In 1965, each woman globally gave birth to more than 5 children on average. Later, the fertility rate gradually decreased, and the global population growth rate dropped from 2.3% per year in 1963. It has been less than 1% so far. Today, each woman has an average of fewer than 2.5 children.

According to the survey report "The World Factbook" released by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), among the 227 countries/regions, the top 5 countries with the highest total fertility rate are all in Africa, and the average birth rate per woman is 5.57 to 6.91 children.The 5 lowest total fertility rates are all in Asia, namely Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. In Taiwan, an average of 1.07 children are born per woman.

What are the problems with low fertility? When there are fewer and fewer children, the future working population will also decrease, and the older adults in the whole society will increase relatively. The working population has to take on more older adults, and the dependency ratio will continue to grow! To support the government's provision of social benefits for the elderly, people need to retire later and pay more taxes.

Many people cannot find their ideal mate. People have their own opinions and living habits, and finding a soul mate or life partner is difficult. In addition to economic or occupational conditions, there are still many conditions that one needs to meet for one's spouse.

People worry about not being able to support their children. Even though the governments of various countries continue to introduce relevant benefits, with limited resources and limited salaries, it is difficult for people to determine a happy future for their children. This also leads to another question: if people don't have children, do people still need to get married?

Even if the economic conditions are good, many people worry that they will not be able to spend time with or take care of their children in the future when they are busy with work. On the other hand, the pressure brought by work and life also increases people's chances of infertility, which is the reason for fertility decline.

Having children affects women's life and work. After pregnancy, women need to go to the hospital regularly, ask for leave during childbirth, and provide breast milk to take care of their children after childbirth. These cases can affect a woman's chances of being promoted or staying in the workforce.

When people's education level and employment opportunities improve, people become more independent, and marriage is no longer a necessary option. The convenience of life has also reduced people's reliance on marriage, and some have begun to choose cohabitation instead of marriage.

As more and more families do not have children, the role of women in the family has begun to change. Playing the role of an aunt can also assist parents in taking care of the next generation, and the term PANK was born. PANK appeared about 10 years ago, representing Professional Aunt No Kids, which also means the new family role of contemporary women.

Whether you want to have children or not, the fact that people are living longer is an important issue that deserves the world's attention. Aging and declining birthrates are already global trends. As countries worldwide are about to face the arrival of a super-aging society, human beings must improve supporting measures in science and technology, medical care, and human rights to meet this challenge.