AFRICA -RETHINKS- FERTILITY : GLOBAL PRECIS

Many African women have far more children than women on other continents do :

Women in Nigeria have an average of over 5 children, while American and European women have about 1.5, and Chinese women even fewer.

And recent progress in reducing child mortality in Africa means more of them survive into adulthood than ever before.

But Africa's birthrate is also gradually dropping : It has fallen by about 38 percent over the past 60 years. That is largely because of education, economics and shifting attitudes towards family size on display in conversations.

The World Students Society thanks Ruth Maclean.