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Why So Many Children In many of the developing countries in Africa and Asia, the population is growing fast. The reason is simple: Women in these countries have a high birth ratefrom 3.0 to 7.0 children per woman. The majority of these women are poor, without the food or resources to care for their families. Why do they have so many children? Why dont they limit the size of their families? The answer may be that they often have no choice. There are several reasons for this. One reason is economic. In a traditionally agricultural economy, large families are helpful. Having more children means having more workers in the fields and someone to take care of the parents in old age. In an industrialized economy, the situation is different. Many children do not help a family; instead, they are an expense. Thus, industrialization has generally brought down the birth rate. This was the case in Italy, which was industrialized quite recently and rapidly. In the early part of the 20th century, Itlay was a poor, largely agricultural country with a high birth rate. After World War II, Italys economy was rapidly modernized and industrialized. By the end of the century, the birth rate had dropped to 1.3 children per woman, the worlds lowest. However, the ecomony is not the only one important factor that influences birth rate. Saudi Arabia, for example, does not have an agriculture-based economy, and it has one of the highest per capital incomes in the world. Nevertheless, it also has a very high birth rate . Mexico and Indonisia, on the other hand, are poor countries, with largely agricultural economies, but they have recently reduced their population growth. | 
