Fertility and intelligence

Map of countries by fertility rate (2020), according to the Population Reference Bureau

The relationship between fertility and intelligence has been investigated in many demographic studies.

- Fertility and intelligence

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Fertility

Capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity.

Countries by fertility rate as of 2020
Chance of fertilization by menstrual cycle day relative to ovulation.
United States crude birth rate (births per 1000 population); Baby Boom years in red.

Factors generally associated with decreased fertility include wealth, education, female labor participation, urban residence, cost of housing, intelligence, increased female age and (to a lesser degree) increased male age.

Total fertility rate

Obtained by summing the single-year age-specific rates at a given time.

Map of countries by fertility rate (2020), according to the Population Reference Bureau
Total fertility rate for selected countries
A plot of population growth rate vs total fertility rate (logarithmic). Symbol radius reflect population size in each country
Total Fertility Rate vs Human Development Index for Selected Countries
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Total fertility rate projections by region
Map of East Asia by total fertility rate (TFR) in 2020
Map of U.S. states by total fertility rate (TFR) in 2013.
History of US Total Fertility Rate from 1933 to 2016.
Map of East Asia by total fertility rate (TFR) in 2021

Factors generally associated with increased fertility include the intention to have children, very high level of gender equality, religiosity, inter-generational transmission of values, marriage and cohabitation, maternal and social support, rural residence, pro family government programs, low IQ and increased food production.

Fertility factor (demography)

Individual is likely to have.

A Norwegian family ca 1900, parents plus five children
A family of rural Africa
Graph of total fertility rate vs. GDP (PPP) per capita of the corresponding country, 2015.
Cumulative percentage and average age for women reaching subfertility, sterility, irregular menstruation and menopause.

Factors generally associated with increased fertility include the intention to have children, in advanced societies very high gender equality, religiosity, inter-generational transmission of values, marriage and cohabitation, maternal and social support, rural residence, pro family government programs, low IQ and increased food production.

Birth rate

Total number of live births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years.

Countries by crude birth rate (CBR) in 2017.
Placard showing negative effects of lack of family planning and having too many children and infants (Ethiopia)
Historic population of Japan (1920-2010) with projected population (2011-2060).
Human Development Index map. Darker is higher. Countries with a higher HDI usually have a lower birth rate, known as the fertility-income paradox.

Factors generally associated with decreased fertility include wealth, education, female labor participation, urban residence, intelligence, increased female age, women's rights, access to family planning services and (to a lesser degree) increased male age.

Gerhard Meisenberg

German biochemist.

Gerhard Meisenberg (2018)

Meisenberg has also studied the possible dysgenic effect in intelligence, due to a claimed negative relationship between fertility and intelligence, Meisenberg argues that in Western society, this trend was delayed by religious prohibitions against contraception, allowing positive selection for intelligence to continue up until the industrial revolution.