• ecsp

New Security Beat

Subscribe:
  • mail-to
  • Who We Are
  • Topics
    • Population
    • Environment
    • Security
    • Health
    • Development
  • Columns
    • China Environment Forum
    • Choke Point
    • Dot-Mom
    • Navigating the Poles
    • New Security Broadcast
    • Reading Radar
  • Multimedia
    • Water Stories (Podcast Series)
    • Backdraft (Podcast Series)
    • Tracking the Energy Titans (Interactive)
  • Films
    • Water, Conflict, and Peacebuilding (Animated Short)
    • Paving the Way (Ethiopia)
    • Broken Landscape (India)
    • Scaling the Mountain (Nepal)
    • Healthy People, Healthy Environment (Tanzania)
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Contact Us

NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
  • Reading Radar

    Shrinking Desired Family Size and Declining Child Mortality

    June 4, 2010 By Dan Asin
    Desired Number of Children: 2000-2008, a report prepared by Charles Westoff of Princeton University for USAID, reviews family size preferences in 60 countries. Taking its data from a series of Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the report found that “the number of children desired is declining in most of the developing world.” The noted exception is western and middle sub-Saharan Africa where, in some countries, 6.0 children remains the desired number. The report found that desire for smaller family sizes, rather than a reduction of unwanted births, was the primary factor behind the declining Total Fertility Rates (TFR) exhibited in most of the countries studied. It noted that men’s preference is close to, but larger than, that of women, and that preference sizes were declining even among women without formal education. The report concluded that preferred family size broadly depended upon “child mortality, Muslim affiliation, women’s education and empowerment, and exposure to the mass media.”

    In an article appearing in the latest The Lancet, researchers from University of Washington and University of Brisbane found that global child mortality has declined 35 percent since 1990, outpacing initial forecasts. Neonatal, Postneonatal, Childhood, and Under-5 Mortality for 187 Countries, 1970—2010: A Systematic Analysis of Progress Towards Millennium Development Goal 4 found that 31 developing countries are on track to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4 and that in certain regions, including sub-Saharan Africa, declines in mortality are actually accelerating. The report concludes that the positive trends in child mortality “deserve attention and might need enhanced policy attention and resources.”
    Topics: demography, family planning, population, Reading Radar

Join the Conversation

  • RSS
  • subscribe
  • facebook
  • G+
  • twitter
  • iTunes
  • podomatic
  • youtube
Tweets by NewSecurityBeat

Featured Media

Backdraft Podcast

play Backdraft
Podcasts

More »

What You're Saying

  • Closing the Women’s Health Gap Report: Much Needed Recognition for Endometriosis and Menopause
    Aditya Belose: This blog effectively highlights the importance of recognizing conditions like endometriosis &...
  • International Women’s Day 2024: Investment Can Promote Equality
    Aditya Belose: This is a powerful and informative blog on the importance of investing in women for gender equality!...
  • A Warmer Arctic Presents Challenges and Opportunities
    Dan Strombom: The link to the Georgetown report did not work

What We’re Reading

  • U.S. Security Assistance Helped Produce Burkina Faso's Coup
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/02/02/equal-rights-amendment-debate/
  • India's Economy and Unemployment Loom Over State Elections
  • How Big Business Is Taking the Lead on Climate Change
  • Iraqi olive farmers look to the sun to power their production
More »

Related Stories

  • Midwives Lead the Way: The 5th Global Midwifery Symposium
  • ecsp
  • RSS Feed
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Wilson Center
  • Contact Us
  • Print Friendly Page

© Copyright 2007-2025. Environmental Change and Security Program.

Developed by Vico Rock Media

Environmental Change and Security Program

T 202-691-4000