At its most basic, fertility rate measures the average number of children that women of childbearing age give birth to in a given country. Fertility rate is closely related to birth rate, which measures the number of live births per 1,000 people in a given country each year. Fertility rate, total (births per woman) from The World Bank: Data Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year. The fertility rate in India has dropped over the past few decades. Here's what it means, why it matters, and how it compares globally
