Two is enough

Ja continues to see steady decline in fertility rate

AFTER YEARS of steady decline, Jamaica’s total fertility rate is now at two children per woman, and the adolescent fertility rate is currently at 46 per 1,000 girls between the ages of 15-19.

This was revealed during the launch of the State of the World Population 2018 report at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, yesterday. According to Alison Drayton, director and representative for the United Nations Population Fund Subregional Office for the Caribbean, declining fertility levels is an emerging trend in many regions of the world.

“Many countries with middle and low income have seen a steady decline in fertility rates while other countries have had a low fertility rate for a long time, and they struggle with maintaining a large enough labour force to fuel their economies,” she said.

Jamaica’s fertility rate moved from an average of three children per woman in 1994 to 2.4 per woman in 2008, while the adolescent fertility rate has moved from 115 per 1,000 in 1994 and 72 per 1,000 girls in 2008.

IAN ALLEN/PHOTOGRAPHER Alison Drayton (left), director and representative of the UNFPA Subregional Office for the Caribbean, presents Dr Wayne Henry (right), director general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica, with a copy of the State of the World Population 2018 Report, during the official launch by the PIOJ-UNFPA at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston, yesterday.