Global Fertility Changes in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of fertility dynamics in a number of countries around the world during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, that is from 2020 to 2022 (2021 for some countries). The study analyzed data from the Human Fertility Database, which contains monthly fertility data from countries worldwide. It also used data from the UN World Population Prospects 2022 to examine fertility trends in countries and regions from 2019 to 2021. The results of the study confirmed the hypotheses of no significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fertility in the least developed countries and found a presumed significant negative impact on middle-developed countries in Latin America and South and East Asia, and questioned the lack of long-term negative effects of the pandemic on fertility in the world's richest and most developed countries.