Collectively, the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa have the highest average fertility rate in the world at 4.6. Niger tops the list at 6.8 children per woman, followed by Somalia at 6.0, the Democratic Republic of Congo (5.8), Mali (5.8), and Chad (5.6).
Non-Hispanic blacks (2.1) have higher fertility than whites but lower fertility than Hispanics. Immigration is an important contributor to higher birth rates among Hispanics, because foreign-born women tend to have more children on average than U.S.-born women.
Sub-Saharan Africa has by far the highest levels of male fertility. It is above 8.5 children per man in half of the 41 sub-Saharan countries for which we have data, and above 10 children in one quarter of them.
With a fertility rate of almost 7 children per woman, Niger is the country with the highest fertility rate in the world followed by Mali.
Another study that evaluated the relationship between age and semen parameters also concluded that male fertility decline begins at 35, and suggested that male fertility peaks between 30 and 35. Bottom line: Men generally see a decrease in fertility beginning at 35, and the decline progresses from there.
It's true that fertility is genetic, and there actually are some people who can be classified as “super” fertile. This is all dependent on sperm and egg health. One study on the topic classified super fertility as having a monthly fecundity rate (the ability to get pregnant) of 60% or greater.
South Koreans are having so few children that their country had the world's lowest fertility rate in 2021, even lower than the preceding year in which the nation also came in dead last. South Korean women averaged 0.81 births during their lifetimes in 2021—the sixth straight year of decline, says Statistics Korea.
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline becomes more rapid once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely for most women.
Data suggest that Black men have lower mean ejaculate volumes, sperm concentration, and total motile sperm counts.
Race – African-American women are more likely to have twins than any other race. Asian and Native Americans have the lowest twinning rates. Caucasian women, especially those over age 35, have the highest rate of higher-order multiple births (triplets or more).
Glazer et al also demonstrated that Asians had the highest sperm concentrations and Blacks the lowest, similar to our data.
As of 2020, White Americans are the racial and ethnic majority, with non-Hispanic whites representing 57.8% of the population. Hispanic and Latino Americans are the largest ethnic minority, comprising 18.7% of the population, while Black or African Americans are the second largest racial minority, making up 12.1%.
Fertility rates are falling
The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime. It hit a record low of 1.59 in Australia 2020 and rebounded slightly to 1.7 per woman last year.
Because fertility occurs mainly within the context of marriages in South Korea, declining marriage rates mean decreases in fertility. Even married couples may delay or forego having children if there is high economic uncertainty.
Is infertility a common problem? Yes. In the United States, among heterosexual women aged 15 to 49 years with no prior births, about 1 in 5 (19%) are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying (infertility).
At a certain time of the month, men can smell that women are more attractive. That time is the 12 to 24-hour window when a woman is ovulating, scientists have found. Multiple studies have concluded that men find women more attractive during ovulation.
Fertility is most likely if the semen discharged in a single ejaculation (ejaculate) contains at least 15 million sperm per milliliter. Too little sperm in an ejaculation might make it more difficult to get pregnant because there are fewer candidates available to fertilize the egg.
Male fertility generally starts to reduce around age 40 to 45 years when sperm quality decreases. Increasing male age reduces the overall chances of pregnancy and increases time to pregnancy (the number of menstrual cycles it takes to become pregnant) and the risk of miscarriage and fetal death.
In most men, this happens between the ages of 30 and 50. There's a significant drop in the amount of semen ejaculated. The amount goes from showers to just a few drops and dribbles over time. In most cases, it takes a mental toll on individuals.
The Lockyer Valley is rated among the top ten most fertile farming areas in the world, and the intensively cultivated area grows the most diverse range of commercial fruit and vegetables of any area in Australia.
Black, Asian and Latina women undergoing fertility treatment experience decreased pregnancy and live birth rates in comparison to White women 8,9. Also, some research has identified decreased fertility among Native American women 10.