Question

What is Birth Rate?

Answer 1

Hint:
> It is an important factor that affects the population growth of a country.
> It is observed to be lower in developed countries and higher in underdeveloped countries.

Complete answer:
Birth rate or the Crude birth rate can be defined as the total number of live births that occur per 1000 of a population divided by the length of the period for which it is calculated in years. The term natality is also used interchangeably with birth rate. This number of live births is obtained through a universal registration system for births. It is also obtained from population counts of the census and can also be estimated through some specialized demographic techniques.

The birth rate, along with the migration and the death rate is an essential component for calculating the population growth in any part of the world. There are many factors which affect the birth rate around the world. Some of these factors are not universal and are subject to region, social class. Some general observations show that developed countries have lower birth rates than under-developed countries. Factors which lead to this conclusion are lack of family planning services and intention to have children (which suggests that, the number of children that the parent has is strongly correlated to the number of children that the following generation may have. Factors which are associated with the decrease in birth rates are wealth, access to family planning services, female labor participation, women’s rights etc.

Another important factor that has led to the formation of the ‘infertility belt’ in Africa is the reproductive health and the untreated infections that lead to fertility problems. The ‘Infertility Belt’ is a region in Africa that stretches across the central Africa, from Gabon in the west to United Republic of Tanzania in the east. This region has a lower fertility rate then the rest of Africa.

Note:
> The crude birth rate in India has been constantly decreasing since 1950-1955 period, when it was record for the first time. It was 43.3 births per 1000 in that period.
> In the 2015-2020 period it has reduced to 18.0 births per 1000.
> In the coming decade it is estimated to drop to 16.0 births per 1000.