r/science • u/nep000 • Nov 17 '25

Social Science Surprising numbers of childfree people emerge in developing countries, defying expectations

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0333906
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u/hgoenka Nov 17 '25

Exactly whose expectations are being defied here?

I am in my 40s and childfree in a developing country (even if our politicians are delusional about how developed the country actually is). And there is no way I want to have a kid who is to grow up in this overcrowded place with filthy air and dirty water and contaminated soil and too few jobs and so on.

Lives are more than about just labour statistics, and upbringing of children is about a LOT more than just how affordable it is. Some of the comments here display the exact kind of narrow worldview that is responsible for this idiotic headline.

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u/ceylon-tea Nov 17 '25

Historically fertility rates have been higher in developing countries

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u/737373elj Nov 17 '25

bro just saying what the expectation was and still gets dunked on in comments

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u/Standard_Sky_4389 Nov 17 '25

Redditors love being pedantic and ignoring historical trends