The crude birth rate is the number of live births per 1,000 people living in the population.
It's called crude because it ignores age-specific risks of getting pregnant and other factors. For example, "per 1000 people" includes females too young or too old to have children, in addition to men, who obviously would not be having children.
There are other rates to measure births between populations. Demographers - Someone who studies population rates adn change - use slightly different terminology than the average person when describing a woman's ability to get pregnant.
True rate is the "number of events/ number at risk" of the event.
In other words, the crude birth rate is not a true rate because it includes children, males and the elderly in the denominator of "1,000 population."
Fertility is a measure of the number of children born to a woman.
Total fertility fate (TFR) is the total number of children ever born to a woman calculated both individually and at the societal level.
Fecundity is the physiological ability to conceive or give birth to children.
There are striking differences around the world between crude crude births and total fertility rates.
| Country or Region | Crude Birth Rates CBR | Total Fertility Rates TFR |
|---|---|---|
| More developed | 12 | 1.6 |
| Less developed | 23 | 2.8 |
| Africa | 37 | 4.9 |
| Latin | 21 | 2.5 |
| America/Caribbean | ||
| Asia (Excluding China) | 23 | 2.4 |
| China | 12 | 1.6 |
| Liberia | 50 | 6.8 |
| Canada | 11 | 1.6 |
| Mexico | 20 | 2.3 |
| United States | 14 | 2.1 |
| Italy | 9 | 1.3 |
| Japan | 9 | 1.0 |
| World | 21 | 2.6 |
You probably noticed that one of the most striking difference is between what are called "more developed nations" and "less developed nations."
More developed nations are nations with comparably higher wealth than most countries of the world including:
• Western Europe
• Canada
• United States
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Australia
Less developed nations are nations located near to or south of the Equator which have less wealth and more of the world's population of inhabitants including:
• Africa
• India
• Central and South America
• Most island nations
• Most of Asia (excluding China)
China has the most strict fertility policy in the world and is often excluded from the rest of Asia in most official reports. Africa is the "birth hot spot" of the world and has been since about 1950. It has a projected population change of an increase of 100 percent between the years 2008-2050.
A few African nations are higher and some are a bit lower. Uganda, for example, should experience a 263 percent increase while Swaziland should experience a 33 percent decline. Referring back to the chart on slide 5, the "6.8 TFR" for Liberia means that the average woman is expected to have 6.8 children there.
The chart states that the 2008 total fertility rate (TFR) in the U.S. was 2.1; that number has recently dropped. This is an important indicator of population change because there is a principle which states that a minimum TFR of 2.1 is needed for a population to replace the man and woman who made the children and a TFR of 2.3 is needed to expand the population. Many have growing concerns about the U.S. not producing as many children. Read the 2013 article from USA Today to learn more about some concerns:
