The world is dominated by men, but fewer and fewer become fathers

A newborn in his father’s arms. Picture: Emilia Kangasluoma

Still in the population of several countries, there are more young men than women of reproductive age. While the number of men increases, the number of fathers decreases.

The chances of fatherhood decrease when there simply aren’t enough partners for all men.

“If the problems of these men are not taken seriously, there is a risk that gender equality will take a back seat and social conflicts will increase,” says the researcher Vegard Fykse Skirbekk University of Oslo in the bulletin.

Result is from a fresh Norwegian from the researchaccording to which the global total fertility rate for men is declining.

The number refers to how many children a woman or man would have on average in their lifetime, if the birth rate remained at the level of the census year throughout a person’s life.

In this case, fertility does not refer to the biological ability of individuals to have children, but the number examines the birth rate of the population.

Turn in fertility between the sexes was in 2024, when women’s global total fertility rate surpassed that of men.

Why is it precisely the male fertility rate that is declining?

According to the researchers, the main reason is the male predominance of the population of reproductive age, when looking at the whole world.

Men are naturally born slightly more than women, because for every hundred baby girls, approximately 105 boys are born.

The mortality rate of young men has historically been higher due to, for example, warfare and a generally more dangerous life.

Coming to the present day, however, the mortality rate among young men has decreased.

Second the reason for the larger male population can be found in the preference for baby boys. In some countries, baby girls have been widely aborted because of their gender.

For example, in China, India and South Korea, boys have been born significantly more often than girls.

Bigger the number of men affects the total male fertility rate in different ways.

First, it’s computational. Since there are more men of reproductive age than before, the fertility rate common to all men is “diluted”.

At the same time, the female fertility rate increases, as the children born are distributed among a smaller female population.

Researchers think that in countries like India and China, the male surplus will cause a difference of up to 20 percent in the fertility of men and women in the future.

Even in Finland, men have fewer children than women. According to Statistics Finland, a Finnish man had an average of 1.1 children in 2024. In the same year, women had an average of 1.23 children.

Infertility has been associated with, among other things, worse health in men. In addition, in their old age, childless men are dependent on care outside the home.

According to researchers, development can be influenced in different ways. Women’s participation in society needs to be strengthened in those countries where girls are aborted because of their gender.

Men’s education and career development should be invested everywhere, so that single men and those without children have opportunities for meaningful and stable career paths.

According to the researchers, promoting men’s lives would reduce the tendency to drift down bad roads, such as into organized crime.

The social inclusion of childless men should also be strengthened, for example through friend circles and networks. In addition, it could offer opportunities for assisted reproduction.

The research was published Pnasin the journal.