- Definition
The fertility rate is the average number of babies a woman has during her lifetime in a particular area.
A fertility rate of 2.1 means that, on average, women in a population are having just enough children to replace themselves and their partners.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: The fertility rate is like taking a snapshot of all the families in a town to find the average number of kids per family.
Ask your child: Why might the average family size be different in different countries?
Common mix-up: Students might think this number applies to every single family. The fertility rate is an average across a whole population, not a rule for any one person.
Examples
- A country with a fertility rate below 2.1, like Japan, may experience a shrinking population over time.
- A country with a fertility rate above 4.0, like Niger, often has a very young population and rapid growth.
fertility rate is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
