The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for BR-PRACTICE-1

Dec. 6, 2024, 8:24 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"A small family is now the norm in India, and with the annual population growth rate less than 1%, fears of population-driven collapse are no longer seen as realistic. In the 1950s, a woman in India would give birth to an average of over six children; today the national average is just over two and still continuing to fall" (para 8). "Instead, so far, the maternal expectations of Indian women have remained largely unchanged; the majority still get married by their early twenties, have two children while relatively young and then stop, often by opting for sterilisation" (para 44). "'No one of my generation wants to have more than two...more
Nov. 29, 2024, 3:21 p.m.
Countries: Japan
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

“The Japanese government has begun to consult young people about their interest in marriage – or lack thereof – as Japan continues to struggle with a demographic crisis that is expected to result in a sharp population decline over the next decades” (para 1).
Nov. 29, 2024, 3:10 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

“Kim's latest appeal for women to have more children was made Sunday during the country’s National Mothers Meeting, the first of its kind in 11 years. ‘Stopping the decline in birthrates and providing good child care and education are all our family affairs that we should solve together with our mothers,’ Kim said in his opening speech” (para 3-4). “While North Korea is one of the poorest nations in the world, the change in its demographic structure is similar to that of rich countries, some observers say. Many families in North Korea also don't intend to have more than one child these days as they know they need lots of...more
Nov. 22, 2024, 10:35 a.m.
Countries: Russia
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"President Putin has lots of things on his mind, including that special military operation in Ukraine, but increasing the birth rate is a very high priority for him. In May he issued a decree calling for measures to raise the birth rate and to increase the number of families with three or more children. In 2022 the government revived the Soviet-era Mother Heroine awardfor women who have 10 or more children -- a lump sum cash prize of US$16,500" (9).
Nov. 5, 2024, 1:18 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"The party’s stringent response to Covid-19 also crystallized simmering political frustrations among some young people, with the catchphrase, “We are the last generation” – a refusal to bear children into the rigidly controlled Chinese state – becoming a rallying cry during Shanghai’s punishing two-month lockdown last spring" (para 10).
Nov. 5, 2024, 12:59 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Even as there is a clear demand for fertility services, Mr. Lin [the chief executive at Beijing Perfect Family Hospital] said, the number of patients visiting the hospital is lower each year. 'The big picture is that people are less willing to have children,' he said" (para 8). "Young people complain about the financial burden of having children and their own economic uncertainty, and push back on traditional ideas about the woman’s role as a caretaker at home. Many have expressed a desire to focus on their careers, while others have embraced a lifestyle known as 'double income, no kids' (para 9). "'In our hometown, if you don’t have children,...more
Dec. 5, 2023, 11:18 a.m.
Countries: China
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"[I]n 2013[,] couples [were allowed] to have two children if one of the spouses was an only child. In late 2015, the authorities announced all married couples could legally have two children" (pp 8). "The authorities further eased the birth limit in 2021, raising it to three children per couple" (pp 9).
Nov. 28, 2023, 1:11 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Chinese software developer Tang Huajun loves playing with his two-year-old in their apartment on the outskirts of Beijing but he said he is unlikely to have another child" (pp 1). "Tang, 39, said many of his married friends have only one child and, like him, they are not planning any more. Younger people aren't even interested in getting married let alone having babies, he said" (pp 3).
Feb. 27, 2023, 1:02 p.m.
Countries: South Korea
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Young Koreans have well-documented reasons not to start a family, including the staggering costs of raising children, unaffordable homes, lousy job prospects and soul-crushing work hours. But women in particular are fed up with this traditionalist society’s impossible expectations of mothers. So they’re quitting." (para 5). "But he’s got it backward — gender equality is the solution to falling birthrates. Many of the Korean women shunning dating, marriage and childbirth are sick of pervasive sexism and furious about a culture of violent chauvinism. Their refusal to be 'baby-making machines,' according to protest banners I’ve seen, is retaliation. 'The birth strike is women’s revenge on a society that puts impossible burdens...more
Feb. 27, 2023, 7:03 a.m.
Countries: Bulgaria
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-1, BR-PRACTICE-1

“Related outreach is helping to reduce the stigmatization of women who are unable or choose not to have children — a pretext for marginalization in Bulgaria’s pro-natalist society...” (Para. 15)
Feb. 18, 2023, 11:17 a.m.
Countries: Mexico
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Leti Montalvo swooped up her tottering 16-month-old and perched him on her hip as she cooked eggs for her 9-year-old daughter, keeping her eyes on the six other children jumping outside on a trampoline. Their squeals competed with the banging on the second floor, where her husband was helping install a second bathroom. Thirteen people live in the house, eight under the age of 10." (Para.1).
Feb. 18, 2023, 11:13 a.m.
Countries: South Korea
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"In recent years, economic pressures and career factors have been key considerations for people deciding on children, experts say. For the 2021 figures, experts cited higher living costs, a spike in house prices and the impact of the Covid pandemic as factors discouraging them from having children" (Para.9-10). "A crisis is brewing. If South Korea's population continues to shrink, there won't be enough people to grow its economy, look after its aging population, and conscript into its army." (Para.11) "Politicians have known for years this is coming but have been unable to fix it. They have thrown billions of dollars at trying to convince people to have children and are...more
Feb. 5, 2023, 9:19 p.m.
Countries: Turkey
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"In recent years, weddings of prosperous citizens in Turkey have sometimes featured a surprise guest: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He likes to give advice to newlyweds about how many children to have. 'One is awkward; two is competitive; with three, there is balance; four means prosperity,' he told one couple. (Erdoğan himself has four children.) 'Birth control is treason,' he said to another, accusing birth control advocates of attempting to 'dry out our breed'". (para 1). "The findings had an immediate effect on the government’s rhetoric. On March 8, 2008, International Women’s Day, Erdoğan asked female supporters in the Anatolian town of Uşak to have three children. 'Those people...more
Jan. 12, 2023, 10:12 p.m.
Countries: Japan
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"As the population grows older, typically the duty of care falls on family members, as the nation doesn’t necessarily have the resources to provide aged care services to such a large demographic. However, many people either don’t have regular contact with their family, or have no family at all (which will probably become more common as fewer and fewer Japanese people are choosing to get married and have children)" (para 4) (NF - CODER COMMENT - The fact that the government solely relies on families to care for their elders implies that bigger famiies are prefered rather than smaller families. This poses a major problem since Japan currently has a...more
Jan. 12, 2023, 7:31 p.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"But there has been a long-term trend of people opting to have children later in life and reduce family size ever since, the ONS said." (para 6). "The share of women reaching 30 without a child has been increasing consistently since the late 70s, when around a fifth were childless. That proportion rose dramatically the following decade. By 1980, 24 per cent of women aged 30 were childless, rising to 37 per cent by 1990. By the turn of the century, some 43 per cent of women mothered a child by their 30th birthday. And last year it breached the 50 per cent mark for the first time." (para 8...more
Jan. 6, 2023, 10:37 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"A local official explained that women tell each other about the procedure…'There is a trend here [in Maharashtra] that girls are married at the age of 15-16, then they have two children, then family planning and then a hysterectomy' " (para 10).
Dec. 9, 2022, 2:29 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"In 2016, the Chinese government altered its policy to allow married couples to have two children. In 2021, the number increased to three. But despite those changes, recent birth data published by China’s National Bureau of Statistics show a 'swan dive' in births since 2016 — indicating a paradox in the country at a time when the government was giving families more flexibility. Recent studies have shown Chinese women are increasingly choosing not to have children — a decision informed by the pandemic and how China’s isolation from the rest of the world has brought about economic uncertainty in the country. According to a February study conducted by Beijing-based think...more
June 28, 2022, 2:56 p.m.
Countries: Bangladesh
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Women report 2.3 children as their ideal family size... Only 12% of currently married women age 15-49 want to have another child within 2 years; 21% would prefer to wait 2 or more years, and 60% want no more children or are sterilized. The desire to stop childbearing increases rapidly with the number of living children, from 12% among women with one child to 76% among women with two children and over 80% among women with three or more children. Conversely, the proportion of women who want to have another child decrease with the number of living children. For example, 65% of currently married women with no children want to...more
Jan. 6, 2022, 12:09 p.m.
Countries: Somalia
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"The more the merrier is the societal attitudes concerning what is the ideal family size. An average family size can be between six to eight. The more children you have the more you will be respected in society" (1).
Sept. 8, 2021, 5:50 p.m.
Countries: Japan
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Just last week, a Japanese city manager sparked outrage when he gave a speech telling new employees to 'play around' to remedy the country's plunging birth rate" (para 3). This comment may reflect a societal view that a lowering birth rate is negative and should be reversed (JLR-CODER COMMENT).
Aug. 4, 2021, 12:58 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"In response to a poll by Xinhua that was titled: 'Are you ready for the three-child policy?' just a tiny fraction of respondents chose 'I’m ready, I can’t wait.' Of roughly 22,000 people who had responded to the poll at one point, 20,000 chose 'I won’t consider it at all.' The poll was quickly deleted" (Para 8). "The lack of social support may discourage those who would otherwise want more children, but a more fundamental issue may be a lack of interest among younger, better educated women who have declared a preference for small families. Even if the government did offer more benefits, Ms. Li said, she would not want...more
July 16, 2021, 2:23 p.m.
Countries: India
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Narendra Modi called for family planning measures and praised an 'informed section' of society who are 'doing good for the country' by choosing to have small families" (para 2).
July 16, 2021, 1:54 p.m.
Countries: Vietnam
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"This shows that Vietnam has maintained a stable birth rate for more than a decade, the trend of giving birth to two children in Vietnam is common" (para 18). The popularity of having two children indicates that it is seen as an ideal amount of children (SFR - CODER COMMENT).
Feb. 15, 2021, 10:28 p.m.
Countries: Cambodia
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

“The last she'd heard from her teenage daughter [who was sold as a child bride to a man in China] was a voice message on Feb. 10. ‘Mum - they don't give me a penny. They just keep me in the house. Maybe things will change when I give them a baby,’ it said” (para 2).
Feb. 6, 2021, 1:25 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

“On the other hand, the Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population, even as it encourages some of the country's Han majority to have more children” (para. 12). “'The intention may not be to fully eliminate the Uighur population, but it will sharply diminish their vitality, making them easier to assimilate,' said Darren Byler, an expert on Uighurs at the University of Colorado. 'It's genocide, full stop. 'It´s not immediate, shocking, mass-killing on the spot type genocide, but it´s slow, painful, creeping genocide,' said Joanne Smith Finley, who works at Newcastle...more
Jan. 1, 2021, 3:38 p.m.
Countries: Japan
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"When a popular actor, Masaharu Fukuyama, married the actress Kazue Fukiishi in 2015, Mr. Suga predicted on television that their marriage would prompt 'Mama-sans' around the country to 'want to have babies alongside the new couple and contribute to the country'" (para 26).
Oct. 1, 2020, 9:06 p.m.
Countries: Hungary
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Orban, a right-wing nationalist, has long advocated a 'procreation over immigration' approach to boost the population which has been falling steadily for four decades" (para 6). "Orban hopes the feritility drive will lead to 4,000 extra births in the country, which has a population of 9.8 million, by 2022" (para 8).
July 19, 2020, 1:45 p.m.
Countries: Nepal
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"10% of currently married women age 15-49 want to have another child soon and 14% want to wait 2 or more years, while 71% of women want no more children or have been sterilized. Table 6.1 also shows that among women with two children, only 4% want to have another child within 2 years and 5% want to have another later (after 2 years), while 88% want no more children or are already sterilized. Eighty-five percent of currently married men with two living children want no more children. Trends: The proportion of currently married women with two children who want no more children increased from 59% in 1996 to 88%...more
July 3, 2020, 4:25 p.m.
Countries: Zambia
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"Fifty-six percent of currently married women age 15-49 want to have another child; 17% of these women want to have another child within 2 years, while 35% want to wait at least 2 years. Thirty-six percent of women want no more children, and 2% are sterilised. Overall, 67% of currently married men age 15-49 want to have another child; 19% want to have another child soon, and 47% want to wait at least 2 years. Twenty-seven percent of men want no more children or are sterilised. The desire to limit childbearing among currently married women increases with number of living children, from 3% among those with no children to 79%...more
June 5, 2020, 1:19 p.m.
Countries: Papua New Guinea
Variables: BR-PRACTICE-1

"The average household size in Papua New Guinea is 5.0 persons. Urban households are larger than rural households (6.0 persons versus 4.9 persons)" (12). "Average household size has decreased only slightly, from 5.2 persons in 2006 to 5.0 in 2016-18" (12). "Just over one quarter of currently married women age 15-49 want to have another child; 10% of these women want to have another child within 2 years, 16% want to wait at least 2 years, and 2% are undecided on when they want another child. Almost half of women want to limit childbearing: 46% of currently married women want no more children or are sterilised. Overall, 40% of currently...more