Digest 715 - Population Control Policy Issues

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, Lucio de Souza Coelho
wrote:

> I have seen in many demographic studies that the replacement rate
is 2.2
> children per couple, and not 2 per couple (the obvious intuitive
guess). I
> don't know the reason - perhaps they are counting just *fertile*
couples?
> Anyway, I accepted the number by faith. :-)
>
> (...)
> > Joe.
> (...)
>
> Lucio.

The TFR of 2.1 or 2.2 children insures a broad representation across
developed and developing countries. The fractional number represents
those children who don't live into their childbearing years.

Here is a good primer on Human Population Growth:
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/P/Populations.
html

Here is a mortility table that I used in my demographic spreadsheet
model:
http://www-mtl.mit.edu/Courses/6.095/notes/mortality.html

You'll note for a country like the US with a low infant mortality
rate, that by accounting for deaths of those under 20, the TFR could
be as low as 2.02.

TangoMan