A Changing Landscape for Family Planning
Global Census Forecast 2025: International Strain Over Birth Control Strategies
The question of how many kids a woman should or could have is rapidly becoming a hot-button political issue globally. Governments are attempting to sway both high and low birth rates through political means, often encroaching on people's personal freedoms to plan their families. These policies, however, often yield fleeting or even counterproductive outcomes. The key to sustainable demographic growth lies in encouraging self-determined family planning decisions. This conclusion comes from this year's World Population Report, titled "Fertility Under Fire. The Battle for Reproductive Autonomy in an Evolving World," presented today in Berlin by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the German Foundation for World Population (DSW).
Niels Annen, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, shared his thoughts on the matter: "Worldwide, there's an assault on women's physical autonomy. Sexual and reproductive rights that women have fought for in recent years are under attack in many places. This is a troubling development. The report shows that education, job opportunities, and healthcare access are the best means to support women. German development aid helps women worldwide exercise their right to self-determination."
The report is based on a survey from 14 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, as well as the USA, representing over a third of the world's population. It reveals that many women and couples face significant obstacles in both avoiding pregnancy and realizing their desire to have children. "The real crisis lies in people feeling incapable of starting the families they want," explains Ian McFarlane, Director of External Relations at UNFPA. "This crisis is not confined to the Global South; it affects the Global North as well."
Worldwide, 44 percent of all women and girls have no say in their sexual relationships, contraception, or reproductive healthcare. Over 750 million women, or around 40 percent of women of reproductive age, live in countries with restrictive abortion laws. These women are forced to resort to dangerous, self-induced abortion methods - worldwide, about 45 percent of all abortions are considered unsafe. Conversely, 23 percent of respondents expressed an unmet desire to have children, while over 40 percent had to abandon this desire. Reasons for not starting a family range from poverty, lack of education, and health issues. On average, people worldwide desire about two children. But among those who have completed their family planning, nearly a third said they had fewer kids than planned, while 12 percent had more.
The report also illustrates: Policies that focus on voluntariness and equality increase the willingness to start a family, while coercive measures often have the opposite effect, and these measures are still prevalent. Dangerous trends include the expanding global populist forces and nationalist governments, which are exacerbating the crisis by challenging women's bodily autonomy globally. Anti-gender and anti-feminist movements aim to promote women primarily in their role as mothers and caregivers for society, limiting their opportunities for participation in economic and political life.
"For a self-determined life, with or without children, we must create both political and societal conditions that enable true freedom of choice," emphasizes Angela Bähr, Director of Programs at DSW. "This includes adequate funding for sexual and reproductive health programs, as well as social infrastructure that allows for the reconciliation of work and family. Only through political action and long-term investments can we tackle this global crisis of self-determination."
You can download the World Population Report 2025 here: https://www.dsw.org/world-population-report/
Press contact:Nicole LangenbachPress SpokespersonGerman Foundation for World Population (DSW)Loebensteinstr. 25 | 30175 HannoverTelephone: 0511 94373-20 | Fax: 0511 94373-73Email: [email protected]: www.dsw.org
Original Content by: German Foundation for World Population (DSW), transmitted through news aktuellSource: ots
Additional Insights:
- Barriers Faced by Women and Couples
- Limited access to information and services
- Socio-cultural norms favoring large families or traditional roles
- Economic constraints
- Legislative and policy barriers
- Impact of Coercive Policies
- Restrictions on reproductive rights
- Forced sterilization and coercive family planning measures
- Human rights violations
- Recommendations
- Promote access to information and services
- Advocate for policy reform
- Address socio-economic factors
- Strengthen human rights frameworks
- Encouraging self-determined family planning decisions, as stressed in the World Population Report, is crucial for both women's health and global science, considering the rising restrictions on reproductive autonomy and the unmet needs for family planning around the world.
- In line with the report's findings, the German Foundation for World Population highlights the importance of investing in health-and-wellness programs, particularly those focused on women's health, in order to ensure that women worldwide have the resources and freedoms necessary to make informed decisions about their families and their bodies, fostering sustainable demographic growth and upholding human rights.
