Aligning Population Policies with Low Fertility

Low fertility has become almost universal in high-income countries and is increasingly common among middle- and low-income countries. Continued low birth rates will lead to smaller and older populations, requiring thoughtful policy adjustments to support the evolving needs of the population.

A growing pro-natalist movement encompassing both governmental and non-governmental actors has called for aggressive efforts to try to raise birth rates. These efforts have been largely ineffective and, in some cases, include policies that limit reproductive health care, enforce restrictive gender and family norms, and fuel anti-immigration and racist sentiments.

The goal of this IUSSP panel is to create a coordinated and collaborative effort to counter the harmful impacts of pro-natalism and, more importantly, offer an alternative approach to navigating low fertility that reflects demographers’ extensive expertise and principles of individual rights and justice.

We call this a pro-alignment approach because it seeks to 1) help individuals align their fertility outcomes with their fertility desires and 2) help governments align population policies with existing population sizes and structures and the growing diversity of contemporary families. This approach supports a wide range of policies including comprehensive reproductive health care, inclusive family policies, and education, labor, aging, health, and immigration policies that promote demographic resilience.