Camilla Cavendish Warns 1.39 UK Fertility Rate Signals Global Birth Collapse
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 17
Camilla Cavendish Warns 1.39 UK Fertility Rate Signals Global Birth Collapse
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 17
Summary
Cavendish’s new book argues collapsing fertility is now a global phenomenon, with the UK’s rate falling to a record-low 1.39 children per woman in 2025 and even lower levels in places such as the UAE, Chile and Tamil Nadu.
Her explanation centers on insecurity rather than ideology: unaffordable housing, career pressures, delayed partnering, a “romance famine” and broader pessimism are leaving many people childless or with fewer children than they wanted.
The book also points to biological and social pressures, from late realization of infertility risks to possible sperm-count declines and fast-moving peer effects that can reshape family-size norms within a single generation.
That mix, Cavendish argues, is turning low fertility into an economic and political challenge for ageing societies, with welfare systems strained and countries potentially shifting from resisting immigration to competing for workers.