Figure 8.24: Total fertility rates in South Asia, 1960–2012. All South Asian countries except Afghanistan have had a substantial decline in fertility since 1960. Afghanistan’s rate has declined less than 20 percent over the past 50 years, probably because of almost continuous conflicts, the overwhelmingly rural population (77 percent), and the low literacy rates for both men (43.1 percent) and women (12.6 percent).

[Sources consulted: 2012 World Population Data Sheet, Population Reference Bureau, at http://www.prb.org/pdf12/2012-population-datasheet_eng.pdf; “Bhutan—Fertility Rate: Fertility Rate, Total (births per woman),” Index Mundi, at http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/bhutan/fertility-rate; “Afghanistan—Fertility Rate: Fertility Rate, Total (births per woman),” Index Mundi, at http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/afghanistan/fertility-rate; “Afghanistan,” The World Fact Book 2012, Central Intelligence Agency, at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html]