Starter

The most common measure of fertility.

The number of births, per 1000 people in the population, per year.

This in an indicator of the number of likely births.

It is an index of the number of live births in a year divided by the number of women aged between 15 and 49.

Activities

Japan's fertility rate has sunk to a record low, the health ministry said.

The rate, which measures the number of children an average woman is expected to give birth to over her lifetime, was 1.25 in 2005, down from 1.29 in 2004. The declining rate threatens to leave Japan with a labour shortage, a reduced tax base and a strained pension system. Japan's government last year began a five-year project to lift the rate, building more day-care centres and encouraging men's paternity leave. The 2005 rate was the lowest since the government began keeping records in 1947. "The trend towards having fewer children will have a grave impact on the economy and society as it slows economic growth, increases the burden for social security and taxes, and reduces the vitality of regional society," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told a news conference on Thursday. "It is natural that we should take firm steps to cope with the trend towards fewer children," he said.

But many Japanese women say it is social attitudes, rather than policies, which put them off getting married or having children. Men are still expected to spend long hours at the office and little time at home, while there is pressure on women to give up work when they have children. Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, although birth rates are also falling in European countries. The average in developed countries is 1.6. Demographers say a rate of 2.1 is needed to keep Japan's population from declining.

Demographers use the fertility rate, which measures the number of children an average woman is expected to give birth to over her lifetime, rather than the birth rate, which just measures the numbers of children born in each year, and is therefore more liable to fluctuate.

Source

UGANDA’s population is the fastest growing in East Africa and has the highest total fertility rate (TFR) in Africa.

The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) has put Uganda Government on the alert to watch energy supplies and environmental conservation to maintain one of the world’s fastest growing populations.

The State of the World and State of Uganda population reports launched on Thursday in Kampala put the world population at 6.540 billion and Uganda at 29.9 million but highlighted the TFR at 7.11.

Uganda’s rapid population growth is attributed to the high total fertility rate of seven children per woman on average for the last 40 years.

The report said Uganda’s population grew from two million in 1900, 2.5 in 1911, 2.8 in 1921, five million in 1949, 24.4 in 2002 and is currently projected at 28.2 million.

Uganda’s population is projected to double to 55 million by 2025 and more than double to 103m by 2050.

By 2050, Tanzania will have 88.3 million people, Kenya 76.6 million, Rwanda 23.7 million and Burundi 20.2 million people.

The reports were launched by investments state minister Prof. Semakula Kiwanuka in the presence of UNFPA resident representative Dr. fatma Mrisho, National Planning Authority chairperson Dr. Frank Mabirizi and Population Secretariat director Dr. Jotham Musinguzi.

Semakula said, “The challenge we have is the daunting task of achieving our Poverty Eradication Action Plan and Millennium Development Goals by 2015. current indications show that we have to work even harder especially on poverty and maternal and infant health.”

Source

Review