I’d add fertility rate as another powerful metric: when people feel safe, supported, and optimistic, they have kids. So if housing, income stability, healthcare, and trust in the future are in place, you’ll usually see that reflected in birth rates.

All this only makes sense in the context of large groups; at the individual level, many factors determine whether someone has children.

What the puppet masters will tell you though that a country’s fertility rate are declining, because women want careers, the men are incels, and fertility drops due to climate change and microplastics.

Most people I know around my age, either limit the number of children or delay having them because they don’t feel safe bringing a child into this world.