Argentina’s fertility rates have plummeted over the past 10 years. According to health ministry data released in early February, the rate fell 47% between 2014 and 2024.

This is hardly an outlier. Developed nations all over the world, like South Korea, Japan, Italy, and Spain, have been dealing with declining fertility rates for decades now, implementing a slew of policies to try and shift course. 

Argentina’s case, however, is different. For starters, the drop has not been because of a stable downward decades-long trend, but rather a dramatic plunge. Lower fertility rates have traditionally been associated to richer nations, whereas Argentina is a middle-income country.

The reasons for the fall are also not the same. Beyond some of the same underlying causes seen in developed nations — more women entering the workforce, better opportunities for education, and improving living conditions —  there is one key factor that sets the Argentine case apart: a steep decline in teen pregnancies, which fell by 65% in the past decade. 

A recent report from the Argentine Health Ministry shows that 413,135 live babies were born in 2024. Births from a decade prior almost doubled them, with 777,000. 

This is the most dramatic drop in fertility rates in the past 70 years in Argentina.

Rafael Rofman, a demographer and top researcher at public policy think tank CIPPEC, told the Herald that, while the fertility rate took a deep dive recently, the phenomenon in Argentina began a century ago, similarly to other countries in the region. 

“It has been gradually decreasing as society modernizes itself, women get more access to work, education universalizes, and children’s rights become more prevalent,” he said.

Argentina’s fertility rate — which measures the average number of births per woman — went from 2.3 in........

© Buenos Aires Herald