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The Conversation
The Conversation
Jonathan Boymal, Associate Professor of Economics, RMIT University

Australia’s fertility rate has reached a record low. What might that mean for the economy?

BaLL LunLa/Shutterstock

Australia’s fertility rate has fallen to a new record low of 1.5 babies per woman. That’s well below the “replacement rate” of 2.1 needed to sustain a country’s population.

On face value, it might not seem like a big deal. But we can’t afford to ignore this issue. The health of an economy is deeply intertwined with the size and structure of its population.

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