Factors Affecting the Change in Fertility Preferences Women in Türkiye Over Time; a Sociological Review

Abstract

The decrease in the fertility rate is a current problem that is experienced in almost all countries and is widely discussed in terms of its political, social, economic and demographic consequences. After the Second World War, especially in the 1950s, the “baby boom” was experienced with the increase in the fertility rate in most European countries and America, and the average number of births increased to four or more. This generation, which is much larger than its predecessors, begins to have fewer children when it comes to adulthood. The global fertility rate, which has started to decline since the 1960s, has dropped from a peak of 2.1% per annum in 1968 to less than 1.1% today. Low fertility rates have become the norm in many parts of the world. The number of live births per woman, which was 5.5 in 1970-1975, decreased to 2.3 in 2010-2015 (UN, 2017). Today, 80% of the world’s population lives in countries with a fertility rate of less than 3 children per woman. In other words, 46% of the world population exhibits a fertility behavior below the population replaced by replacement level of 2.1. In 2020, the fertility rate for the world was 2.4 births per woman (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2021: 5).