Economically stable people who feel safe in their society choose to have children
This logically makes sense, and may have even been something that you’ve experienced yours either directly or second hand via friends/family, but it’s not present in the data.
There’s a very strong negative correlation between education and income vs birth rate. As people make more money and/or attain higher levels of education they have fewer kids. My theory is that this is due to a combination of reliance on direct family for labor on a homestead/farmstead, sex ed, and access to contraceptives. Kids are also a large time/emotional/financial commitment and with our modern emphasis on “self sufficency” this places a heavy burden on parents. Some countries have tried softening this blow, but it hasn’t changed their birthday trend.
