But nowhere has the demographic shift been more dramatic than in the developed world (think North America, Europe, Oceania, and East Asia). Fertility rates have dropped from nearly 3 children per woman in 1950 to 1.45 today—basically halving. You can see this in today's chart below.

As a result of the declining global fertility rate, the world's population growth rate has dropped significantly, from a peak of 2.3% per year in 1963 to less than 1% today.