Demographics of the world
According to the CIA - The World Factbook, the country with the highest birth rate currently is Niger at 51.26 births per 1000 people. The country with the lowest birth rate is Japan at 7.64 births per 1000 people. Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, is at 7.42 births per 1000 people. As compared to the 1950s, birth rate was at 36 births per 1000 in the 1950s, birth rate has declined by 16 births per 1000 people. In July 2011, the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced that the adolescent birth rate continues to decline.
Women in Niger
Niger has the highest prevalence of child marriage and the highest total fertility rate (TFR) in the world (a TFR of almost 7 children/woman). Early marriage is the norm in Niger: 3 in 4 girls are married before their 18th birthday, the highest rate in the world. Maternal mortality in Niger is high, due to reasons such as socioeconomic factors, lack of access to quality medical care, and insufficient number of qualified health personnel. Niger's very high fertility rate is posing a threat to the population's well-being, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and malnutrition; there have been attempts to educate the population on the benefits of smaller families.