Fertility Rates Decline in Middle East

Here's an interesting article. Birth rates appear to have declined and I was surprised by the below replacement rate in Iran.

Link: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/20...lity-rates/?hp

April 3, 2009, 12:14 pm
U.N. Sees Falling Middle East Fertility Rates
By Neil MacFarquhar

Eight of the 15 countries that experienced the biggest drop in population growth since 1980 are in the Middle East, led by Iran, United Nations population experts say.

Hania Zlotnik, director of the population division at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said the shift suggests that education and access to family planning can play a far greater role than expected in reducing population growth, even in conservative Muslim states.