Population in the Arab World declines: UN

DUBAI (Al Arabiya)New changes in the Arab World are to influence its population into decline, as more girls join schools, work, marry later and desire to produce fewer babies.
“Impressive declines in fertility have been recorded in the Arab region as a result of increased school enrolment among girls, stronger participation of women in the labor force, and the new trends towards “wait hood” or delayed marriage and the formation of smaller families,” said The U.N. Economic and Social Commission on Western Asia (ESCWA) in a report.
“According to the 2008 revision, the unweighted average total fertility rate for the Arab countries declined from 6.2 live births per woman in the period 1980-1985 to 3.3 in the period 2005-2010 compared to 2.6 at the world level, consequently reshaping the age structure of the population of the Arab region,” the ESCWA report added.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/20...27/115002.html