The State of World Population Report 2025, "The Real Fertility Crisis: The pursuit of reproductive agency in a changing world," highlights that many people globally are unable to achieve their desired family size, whether that means having fewer or more children than they want.
The State of World Population Report 2025, "The Real Fertility Crisis: The pursuit of reproductive agency in a changing world," highlights that many people globally are unable to achieve their desired family size, whether that means having fewer or more children than they want.
Key findings include:
- A significant percentage of people experience both unintended pregnancies and difficulties in having a desired child.
- "Overachieved fertility" (having more children than desired) and "underachieved fertility" (having fewer children than desired) are widespread across countries, regardless of their overall fertility rates.
- The most common desired number of children across surveyed countries is two.
- Economic barriers (financial limitations, unemployment/job insecurity, housing costs) are the leading reasons for people having fewer children than desired.
- Concerns about the future (political/social situations, climate change) also contribute to people desiring fewer children.
- Partnership issues, such as a lack of a suitable partner or insufficient involvement of partners in housework/childcare, also play a role.
The report argues against alarmist rhetoric about "population explosion" or "population collapse" and emphasizes that the real crisis is the inability of individuals to make free, informed choices about their reproductive lives. It advocates for policies that prioritize reproductive agency, gender equality, economic stability, and access to quality healthcare, rather than those that seek to influence fertility rates. It also notes that coercive policies, historically and currently, often violate human rights and can have counterproductive long-term effects on fertility.
The report emphasizes the need to move beyond outdated metrics like the total fertility rate as the sole measure of success for population policies. Instead, it suggests focusing on indicators that capture people's actual reproductive desires and the barriers they face in achieving them.
