In relation to population studies, what does a high fertility rate indicate?

A high fertility rate signifies that a population is likely experiencing an increase in size. This is because a high fertility rate indicates that more individuals are being born than are dying, leading to natural population growth. When fertility rates are above the replacement level—typically considered to be around 2.1 children per woman—each generation is larger than the previous one, assuming other factors such as mortality rates are stable. This increase in the number of births contributes directly to growth in the overall population.

Conversely, a high fertility rate does not directly indicate potential population decline, stability in population size, or migration patterns. In fact, a stable population size would typically be associated with a fertility rate that matches the mortality rate, while migration refers to the movement of individuals into or out of a population rather than the natural increase due to birthing rates. Hence, a high fertility rate is most closely aligned with the concept of an increasing population size.