The global population may have reached eight billion last year, but the world's fertility rate is way lower than it used to be. In fact, it's been falling steadily since the 1970s.

The decline in births worldwide is down to a number of factors, including better access to contraception, more opportunities for women outside of having kids and lower mortality rates in children thanks to improved health care across the globe. (All good things, I'm sure you'll agree.)

Click to enlarge

The world's fertility rate is measured as the average number of births per woman over a lifetime, but it's important to note that this assumes every woman will live to the end of her childbearing years, and bear children according to the age-specific fertility rates currently observed. However, we're still able to understand general trends around the globe by looking at the many decades' worth of data collected by the World Bank.

Via Visual Capitalist.

[Image credit: Christan Bowen]