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?
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Not everyone lives to adulthood and then has both the ability, will and opportunity to reproduce.
Of those 2.1 children some may get run over by truck or die of cancer before they were old enough to get themselves or anyone else pregnant. Some may turn out to be infertile. Others simply gay (gay couples who adopt adopt children born to the rest and thus don’t count for this math.) Some may simply not want to have children for one reason or another. Incels and catholic priests are a thing.
If one in 21 children don’t grow up to become parents themselves you need 21 children to get 20 to replace the 2 parents to even things out.
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