A demographer notes that fertility has declined sharply, yet the annual number of births remains relatively high. Which inference is most sociologically sound?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option 2: A large reproductive-age population may be offsetting the effect of declining fertility.
The number of births depends not only on how many children each woman has, but also on how many women are in the reproductive age group. A large cohort of potential mothers can sustain high birth numbers even when fertility rates decline.