Iran’s fertility collapsed from 7.0 to 2.1 in two decades

Evidence

Iran has set the world record for the most rapid decline in fertility. Whereas in the early 1980s Iran’s fertility rate was 7.0 births per woman, by 2000 the rate was just 2.1, the level required for maintenance. It may fall further. … An ever-burgeoning population in the countries of origin is a core assumption of the Eurabia scenario, but this assumption must be critically examined, if not rejected outright. — Michael A. Reynolds and Thomas D. Grant, The Future of Europe and Its Muslims, 160

Categorization

• XREF: Pairs with the Turkey data at 158-159 as parallel cases of Muslim-majority fertility decline.
• QUESTION: What drove Iran’s record fertility collapse — state family-planning policy, education of women, or urbanization? Worth chasing as a causal case study.
• CANDY: Iran holds the world record for the fastest fertility decline ever recorded — a striking single statistic for conversation.