Fertility and population growth rates have fallen in much of Asia and Latin America, but African families are still large, averaging 5.5 children per woman for the entire continent. In sub-Saharan Africa fertility is even higher—nearly 6 children per woman on average. Though women in African countries often want smaller families than their parents had, in most cases they have no access to appropriate information and services. The effect of Africa’s rapid population growth is aggravated by poverty, declining per capita food production, a deteriorating environment, very rapid urban growth and lack of investment for development.

Despite impressive reductions in family size and a contraceptive prevalence rate close to 60 per cent (including traditional methods) for Asia as a whole, progress in bringing down growth rates and fertility levels has been very uneven. In both south and central Asia growth rates remain high and women’s status remains low. In these poorer areas, population continues to grow at nearly 2 per cent a year, the total fertility rate is over 3.5 children per woman and the contraceptive prevalence rate is a dismal 35 per cent or lower. At these growth rates, south-central Asia will have to cope with over 2 billion people by 2025, many of them desperately poor.

In contrast to Asia’s demographic bulk, Latin America and the Caribbean contain less than 10 per cent of the world’s population. In 1997, the region’s total population amounted to 490 million, with more than half living in just two countries— Brazil and Mexico. Population growth rates have fallen consistently over the past three decades and women bear, on average, about three children each. Life expectancy is comparable to North America, and infant mortality is the lowest among developing regions. Still, there are expanding pockets of extreme poverty in nearly every Latin American country. More than half the population live in cities, and extreme urban poverty is a growing problem. Poor people often lack access to even rudimentary reproductive health services.