Daily Digit: The world’s fertility rate has dramatically decreased, but the population continues to grow

Daily Digit is the story behind the numbers that make our world work. Today we’re looking at the global fertility rate. According to a new study, the world’s fertility rate dropped by nearly 50 percent between 1950 and 2017. The study notes that this could be due to people getting married later and having children later. Some countries have offered incentives to reverse this trend, such as paid family leave, but they haven’t had much of an effect. However, in that same time period, the global population has tripled, and it is estimated that it will hit nearly 10 billion by 2050. Forget the baby boom — we’re living in the baby bust!