Across the world, alarm bells are ringing about falling birth rates and fears of population collapse. But the real story isn’t about numbers — it’s about choice and a lack of sexual and reproductive health education and resources.

We asked over 14,000 young people from 14 countries about their dreams and fears around having children. Their answers revealed a painful truth: many want to have more children but can’t, while others want fewer children but lack control over their own bodies leading to unintended pregnancies, smaller families, and a global population decline.

Often, women are blamed for declining populations and have been called selfish or out of touch with “their own internal desires.” But millions of people still lack access to family planning, adequate healthcare, gender equality, and financial security — while older generations and many regions across the globe don’t offer solutions for a clean environment, healthy economy, or safe place to live.

Like Anastasia from Moldova, who told us, "When planning for [another] child, we considered whether we could support ourselves during my maternity leave and how to combine household tasks with work.”

Or this 29-year-old woman in Mexico, "I want children, but it’s becoming more difficult as time passes by. It is impossible to buy or have affordable rent in my city. I also would not like to give birth to a child in war times and worsened planetary conditions if that means the baby would suffer because of it.”

Financial strain, climate change, insecurity, and lack of shared responsibility at home are forcing millions of young people to make heartbreaking decisions about their futures, including family size.

This is the real fertility crisis — not too few children, but too many barriers standing between people and the families they want.

At UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency,  we believe everyone deserves the freedom and resources to build the families they choose. That’s why we work to improve access to healthcare, promote gender equality in caregiving, and support policies that create safe, stable futures.

But these programs rely on donor support to operate. You can help young people worldwide overcome the obstacles that stand between them and the families they want.

Will you make a gift to provide sexual and reproductive healthcare, family planning, and resources to young people worldwide? Your gift can help ensure everyone has the freedom, means, and confidence to make their own choices about their families and their futures.

Together, we can build a future where everyone can confidently plan for the family they want — and a world we’re proud for the next generation to inherit.

Thank you.

— USA for UNFPA