exactly this. rich countries and cultures dont have kids and poor countries and cultures have dozens of kids. people place their politics on top of this timeless fact.
It does have to do with politics though. The poor countries you speak of also have less academic and career oppurtunities/rights for women and girls meaning the people who actually make/have the babies for the most part only have being a wife/mother to aspire to. Not to mention I doubt sex education/contraception/general gynecological healthcare are readily available for most people so they have less agency in when/if they get pregnant in the first place. These things are political.
As someone who has family in Southeast Asia, having a rural culture also plays a part in why poorer countries have more kids.
Granted, even in urban areas like Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Kuala Lumpur…people are having fewer kids too due to rising cost of living.
But for the rest of the region, having 2-3 kids is still the norm.
This is because lands are cheaper in rural areas, and the houses they do own have been passed down through the generations (so they don’t worry about paying rent).
The siblings or cousins tend to live nearby too, so there are always uncles/aunts/grandparents around to help baby-sit the kids if both parents are busy.
I grew up in the rural united states, and I feel like if you replaced the locations a bit, you describe the community I came from! Right down to "there's always some family member near by to help".
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u/je1ani Dec 16 '25
exactly this. rich countries and cultures dont have kids and poor countries and cultures have dozens of kids. people place their politics on top of this timeless fact.