UN: Iran Among 10 Most Populous Countries with Low Fertility Rates
The United Nations in its latest report on global population growth states that the world’s population will reach 9.8 billion by 2050. In this report, Iran alongside China, Germany, Japan, and the United States is among the 10 most populous countries with low fertility rates.
The world’s population will grow from 7.6 billion in the current year to 9.8 billion by 2050; and as the UN states, India, Pakistan, and seven other countries will be the main drivers of this population increase.
According to recent UN estimates, India, Nigeria, Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the United States, Uganda, and Indonesia rank at the top of the list of countries that will play a role in population growth over the next three decades. India will replace China as the world’s most populous country within the next seven years.
Iran, China, Brazil, the United States, Russia, Japan, Vietnam, Germany, Thailand, and Britain are also among the world’s most populous countries with low fertility rates. This means that the growth of the younger generation is less than the level required to replace the aging population. Estimates show that 2.1 children per mother is needed for replacement. In other words, for every 10 mothers, 21 children must be born. The UN report indicates that an increasing number of countries worldwide are falling below the required level.
Results of a survey conducted in December 2015 showed that matters such as “significant changes in family structure and characteristics” over the past half-century, “the transition of family from extended to nuclear,” or “changing gender roles of women and men” and “declining fertility rates in Iran” over the past three decades have been quite evident. Also, reluctance toward childbearing in cities like Tehran has been 1.5 times higher among men than among women.
In the UN report, it is stated that between 2010 and 2015, 47 countries with the lowest level of development had more than 4.3 births per mother. As a result, the population of 26 African countries will at least double by 2050. Nigeria ranks first among countries in terms of population growth and by that year will have a larger population than the United States.
However, another important issue in this report is the uneven population growth in poor and less developed countries and concerns about food and water resources for this massive population in the coming years.
Meanwhile, population in developed countries is deliberately declining and the replacement of new generations is also decreasing. The UN states that migration and refugee flows, particularly to Europe, somewhat reduce the severity of population decline in these regions, although it will not prevent the overall decline.
Source: Radio Farda
