Relation between crude birth rate and total fertility rate
This page describes the empirical and conceptual relationship between crude birth rate and total fertility rate.
Conceptual relationship
Intermediate notion: general fertility rate
The relation between the crude birth rate and total fertility rate can be understood best by looking at a demographic variable that is intermediate, albeit not midway, between them: the general fertility rate (GFR). This is not separately reported in most datasets, but is still conceptually useful.
- Relationship between CBR and GFR: Crude birth rate measures the number of live births per 1000 members of the total population. General fertility rate, on the other hand, measures the number of live births per 1000 women of childbearing age. The relation between CBr and GFR depends on the age-sex structure of the population, or explicitly, on an estimate of the proportion of the population that comprises women of childbearing age.
- Relationship between GFR and TFR: See total fertility rate versus general fertility rate.