In recent years, Canadian women have on average given birth to just 1.48 children each, yet Canada's birth rate is among the highest in the Western world. Demographers tell us that the "replacement rate" is 2.1 babies per woman, and that of all the Western democracies, only the United States' women at 2.11 are keeping pace with death. Nineteen of the world's 20 lowest birth rates are found in Europe, where the overall rate stands at 1.32. Russia stands at an abysmal 1.14.