I understand that many women will not have kids or will have only one kid, or that child mortality is involved but still a fertility rate of 2 means that ON AVERAGE every woman will have 2 kids. This means that every woman and man will be replaced, including the children that die young if the rate of 2 lasts (the newborn females will also have on average two kids). So why isn’t a fertility rate of 2 enough to replace the population?
In: 701
Because not all people have children.
People die. They have heart attacks, get stabbed, get shot, jump off buildings, burn in fires, drown in lakes, etc. many of which do so before having children. Plus, sometimes people are just born sterile; or just can’t/won’t have 2 kids.
You need an average above 2 in order to make up for those holes. Not much more; the average is still near 2. But you need more than 2.
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