Changing household structures, economic growth and contraceptives prompt dramatic drop in fertility rate, study finds.
When Maryam al-Badr, 20, a Qatari female student at Northwestern University in Qatar, began her journey as a journalism major in August 2017, she had aspirations of completing her degree and be in a position to be independent, especially financially.
She took a year-worth of foundation courses after high school to prepare herself to gain admission to the university and fulfil her dreams. Getting married and starting a family was only a distant option. Many Qatari women in the generations before her would have never had the same aspirations, but mindsets are changing among young women in the Arab world.
“Most Arab families want to have two to three children at most,” said Marcia Inhorn, the author of a 2018 study from Yale University that explained the unprecedented decline in fertility rates in the Arab world.
The phenomenon, which first started in 1975, has occurred without substantial family planning programmes conducted by the Arab governments.
According to the study, this dramatic decline in fertility rate is due to the changing nature of the household structure, economic growth and available contraception.
Declines in fertility rates are consistent across all Arab countries regardless of wealth.
“[This is] primarily because women are getting more educated in the Arab world and they are seeking a different future and aspirations for themselves,” said Inhorn.
Between 1975 and 1980, women in all Arab countries had a total fertility rate of seven children per woman, which was far exceeding the world average of 3.85. Today, only three Arab countries, Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen, have a total fertility rate above three.
“We labelled this decline as a quiet revolution because no one is talking about this change and it is not being recognised,” said Inhorn.
