Official data laying bare the stark divide between local authorities reveals how the rate among women in parts of London has fallen by more than a third since 2001.
The average fertility rate across both countries slumped to just 1.49 in 2022. READ MORE:The extent of England and Wales' baby bust was today laid bare by shock analysis showing no authority has a fertility rate above 'replacement' level.
MailOnline's full analysis is available to view in an searchable map which showcases the fertility rate of all of the 330-plus authorities in England and Wales and how they have changed since 2001. Powerhouses such as Britain and the US will have to become reliant on immigration to avoid 'immense' consequences, The Lancet study concluded.
MailOnline found that almost eight in ten areas have seen a drop in their fertility rate since 2001. Fourteen have stayed flat. But over the last five years, rates have dipped far more dramatically, with just seven local authorities recording a rise.The City of London and Cambridge were among the biggest falls, logging drops of 45 and 44 per cent, respectively — 0.63 down from 1.14 and 1 from 1.79.
Dr Natalia Bhattacharjee, of the University of Washington's School of Medicine, said the trends will completely reconfigure the global economy and the international balance of power.'These future trends in fertility rates and live births will completely reconfigure the global economy and the international balance of power and will necessitate reorganising societies.
Experts believe the fall is partly down to women focusing on their education and careers and couples waiting to have children until later in life. Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Lambeth and Brighton, which all saw significant drops in fertility rates according to ONS data, also share one common link, she added.
A spokesperson for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service also said: 'Enabling measures such as increased availability of funded childcare may enable some women to make different choices, but it will never force women to make a decision they don't wish to.' The threat of underpopulation has also been a pet topic of eccentric billionaire Elon Musk, who has preached about it for years. In 2017, he said that the number of people on Earth is 'accelerating towards collapse but few seem to notice or care'
The threat of underpopulation has also been a pet topic of eccentric billionaire Elon Musk, who has preached about it for years. Later, he added: 'My advice to all government leaders and people is make sure you have children to create a new generation or the culture of Italy, Japan and France will disappear.'So what is behind the West's baby bust? Women worldwide, on average, are having fewer children now than previous generations.
Education around pregnancy and contraception has increased, with sex education classes beginning in the US in the 1970s and becoming compulsory in the UK in the 1990s. They may also have more exposure to different ideas on family sizes through school and connections they make during their education, encouraging them to think more critically about the number of children they want, she said.
The UK Government has 'implemented the most anti-family policies of any Government in living memory' by cutting services that support families, along with benefit cuts that 'deliberately punish low-income families with children', he added. However, the move could be leading to women having fewer children than they planned. In the 1990s, just 6,700 cycles of IVF — a technique to help people with fertility problems to have a baby — took place in the UK annually. But this skyrocketed to more than 69,000 by 2019, suggesting more women are struggling to conceive naturally.
Studies have also pointed to air pollution for dropping fertility rates, suggesting it triggers inflammation which can damage egg and sperm production.
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