Planet's falling fertility rates will 'transform the way we live', study says

Countries generally need to have a total fertility rate (TFR) of 2.1 in order to sustain population size, the researchers said, meaning that 2.1 children need to be born to each person who can give birth. File picture

Falling fertility rates across the planet will see populations shrink in more than three-quarters of countries by 2050, which will “transform the way we live”, according to new research.

It will rise to 97% of the world’s 204 countries by the end of the century, according to the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD).