English

Noun

fertility rate ‎(plural fertility rates)

1. The average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if she followed the current average pattern of fertility among a given group of women and survived through her reproductive years; used as an indicator of strength of population growth.

   In America the fertility rate of recent immigrants tends to be higher than that of native population.

   In most industrialized countries the fertility rate has dropped well below replacement rate.

Coordinate terms

• birthrate, natality
• replacement rate

Translations