Bostonian,

Here are fertility rates (average no. of children per woman, 2000-2005) for various countries from The Economist’s Pocket World in Figures (2005):

Hong Kong – 1.00

Russia – 1.14

Spain – 1.15

Italy – 1.23

Poland – 1.26

Japan – 1.32

Germany – 1.35

Canada – 1.48

United Kingdom – 1.60

This came from a table of the 49 lowest fertility rates. I believe that the US is about at replacement rate (2.0). Some countries, including France, have been actively encouraging their women to have more children. Bit of a problem for these countries, since a large segment of the population is older, the population is not reproducing itself, and these countries have big social welfare programs. Doesn’t look exactly sustainable…..