Trends Related to Fertility and Fecundity

Population Trends Changes in fertility have has a profound effect on our world Overpopulation can result in starvation and a drain on our natural resources It took until the 1830s for the world to hit the one billion mark in population In the last 175 years the earth’s population has grown more than five times that number!

World Population Trends The Developed World is defined by the United Nations as North America, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand The Developing World is everyone else. Example?

The Developed World Surprisingly, demographers are now dealing with a falling population rate Women in the developed world are having fewer children which causes a major problem for us – Do you know what it is? There are fewer and fewer people to pay for the aging population as they start to retire This generation has higher health costs because there is a greater number of them

The Developing World 95% of the world’s population growth is happening in the developing world Half of the people in these countries are under 15 years of age They have little access to health care and education Do you know the name of these people? The Masai

Fertility and Fecundity Fertility refers to actual reproduction Fecundity refers to the ABILITY to reproduce It is interesting to note that even in the developing world, the fertility rate is falling

Involuntary Childlessness Many cultures believe that a marriage is not complete without children – In fact, if after a period of time you do not reproduce people will start to wonder what is wrong. In some cultures they may even divorce eg. In Israel, a marriage that lasts for 10 years without producing a child is viewed as grounds for divorce Why do you think the birth of children is so important to some cultures?

Voluntary Childlessness Voluntary Childlessness is when couples actively decide not to have children. Women who remain childless are often stereotyped

Categories that Define the Reasons Women Remain Childless Hedonists – Women who choose to remain childless to preserve their standard of living and who are unwilling to invest the time in raising children Emotional – Women who do not have an emotional draw toward babies or children Idealistic – Women who do not want to bring a child into a world they feel is unsuitable Practical – Women who have a practical reason for being childless such as not wanting to pass on a genetic defect to their child

The Impact of Current Birth Patterns in Canada The Economy! There will be more jobs for young workers as approximately 25% of the workforce retires Labour shortages could even occur Canada is increasingly depending on immigration to replace these workers as the birth rate falls from 1.54 to 1.48 in the next five years (prediction) Job shortages will likely be seen in areas such as education, health care, government, forestry etc.

The Canadian Pension Plan Because of the falling birthrate and the high number of retiring and aging Canadians, the government had to make changes to the CPP These changes will see the younger generation pay higher premiums to support the aging generation before them This increase will see payments jump from around $945/year to around $1635 – this total is matched by the employers.

The Impact on Health Care The biggest strain on the Provincial Government’s budget is Health Care The largest portion of the Government’s budget goes to health care for the elderly The average age of those entering long term care facilities is 85 years old and the number of these people is expected to quadruple by the year 2028 Many worry the money to pay for these people will take money away from other areas where it is needed as well