2819 3
One indicator of a declining economy is a continued decline in birth rates. In 2010, birth rates in Europe
were at an all-time low, with the average number of children that a woman has in her lifetime at well below
two. In the figure below, f(t) represents birth rates for Portugal between 1960 and 2010, and g(t)
represents birth rates in Slovakia for the same period. For which value(s) oft is f(t) > g(t)?
Total Fertility Rate, 1960-2010
3.4
A) 1960 3.0
2.6
B) 1960 < t < 1980 and 2000 < t < 2010
2.4
2.2
2 2.0
C) 1960 < t < 1980 only
1.8
1.6
1.4
D) 1980 1.2
3.2 10
Live Births per Woman
1960 1979 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
Source: Data from Eurostat,