A glance at the graph provided reveals a number of striking similarities between the Chinese and US birth rates during the period from 1920 to 2000. Both nations saw considerable
fluctuations in fertility, with lows during the 1940s and highs during the 1950s.
Increasing from approximately 10 percent in 1920 to 15 percent in 1935, China’s birth rate then
plunged to a low of merely 5 percent in the 1940s. This was followed by a period of exponential
growth, with fertility in the country reaching a peak of 20 percent in 1950. The latter half of the
century, however, brought a sustained decline in this figure.
The US birth rate, meanwhile, fluctuated at somewhere between 11 and 13 percent prior to 1940,
previously dropping sharply to less than 5 percent in 1945. The following 5 years saw a rapid climb
in this rate, to somewhere in the vicinity of 15 percent in 1950, followed by a steady fall.
It is interesting to note that while the birth rates of both countries were comparable until 1950,
the gap between the two widened after this time as fertility in China slid away.
A glance at the graph provided reveals a number of striking similarities between the Chinese and US
birth
rates
during the period from 1920 to 2000. Both nations
saw
considerable
fluctuations in fertility, with lows during the 1940s and highs during the 1950s.
Increasing from approximately 10
percent
in 1920 to 15
percent
in 1935, China’s
birth
rate
then
plunged to a low of
merely
5
percent
in the 1940s. This
was followed
by a period of exponential
growth, with fertility in the country reaching a peak of 20
percent
in 1950. The latter half of the
century,
however
, brought a sustained decline in this figure.
The US
birth
rate
, meanwhile, fluctuated at somewhere between 11 and 13
percent
prior to 1940,
previously dropping
sharply
to less than 5
percent
in 1945. The following 5 years
saw
a rapid climb
in this
rate
, to somewhere in the vicinity of 15
percent
in 1950, followed by a steady fall.
It is interesting to note that while the
birth
rates
of both countries were comparable until 1950,
the gap between the two widened after this time as fertility in China slid away.