Fertility rates cut in half since 1950 -- but the population is still growing

By Michael Nedelman, CNN

Updated 0945 GMT (1745 HKT) November 9, 2018

A 2017 report by <a href="http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/SAVETHECHILDREN_ENDOFCHILDHOOD_INDEX_2017_EASTAFRICA%20EDITION_LOWRES.PDF" target="_blank">Save the Children</a> ranked 172 countries from best to worst in an effort to explore the main reasons why childhood comes to an early end in certain places. Here are countries that ranked highest and lowest.<br /><br /><strong>Norway: </strong>A woman kisses her 4-month-old son in Oslo. Fewer than 0.3% of children die before the age of 5 in Norway.
Photos: The best and worst countries to be a child
A 2017 report by Save the Children ranked 172 countries from best to worst in an effort to explore the main reasons why childhood comes to an early end in certain places. Here are countries that ranked highest and lowest.

Norway: A woman kisses her 4-month-old son in Oslo. Fewer than 0.3% of children die before the age of 5 in Norway.
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<strong>Finland: </strong>A 2-year-old at her public day care in Helsinki. Only 2% of primary- and secondary-school-age children are out of school in Finland.
Photos: The best and worst countries to be a child
Finland: A 2-year-old at her public day care in Helsinki. Only 2% of primary- and secondary-school-age children are out of school in Finland.
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<strong>The Netherlands: </strong>A woman and her 2-hour-old baby in The Hague. The Netherlands has a child homicide rate of 0.3 deaths per 100,000 people 19 years old or younger.
Photos: The best and worst countries to be a child
The Netherlands: A woman and her 2-hour-old baby in The Hague. The Netherlands has a child homicide rate of 0.3 deaths per 100,000 people 19 years old or younger.
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<strong>Sweden:</strong> A child learns to ride a bike in Sweden, where nobody is forcibly displaced by conflict.
Photos: The best and worst countries to be a child
Sweden: A child learns to ride a bike in Sweden, where nobody is forcibly displaced by conflict.
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<strong>Niger:</strong> A baby with acute malnutrition drinks fresh, clean water in Agui. Here, 43% of children up to age 5 have stunted growth from malnourishment.
Photos: The best and worst countries to be a child
Niger: A baby with acute malnutrition drinks fresh, clean water in Agui. Here, 43% of children up to age 5 have stunted growth from malnourishment.
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<strong>Angola: </strong>Children collect plastic and cardboard among the trash in Luanda province. Here, more than 10% of children die before their 5th birthdays.
Photos: The best and worst countries to be a child
Angola: Children collect plastic and cardboard among the trash in Luanda province. Here, more than 10% of children die before their 5th birthdays.
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<strong>Mali: </strong>A 12-year-old girl had to leave school after fighting broke out in her village, leaving her displaced in another village in central Mali. In this country, 47.3% of kids are out of school.
Photos: The best and worst countries to be a child
Mali: A 12-year-old girl had to leave school after fighting broke out in her village, leaving her displaced in another village in central Mali. In this country, 47.3% of kids are out of school.
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<strong>Central African Republic: </strong>A young boy carries water in the midday sun at a camp for internally displaced persons in Bangui. Here, 19.3% of the population is displaced by conflict.
Photos: The best and worst countries to be a child
Central African Republic: A young boy carries water in the midday sun at a camp for internally displaced persons in Bangui. Here, 19.3% of the population is displaced by conflict.
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<strong>Somalia: </strong>A former child bride, now 16, holds her 2-month-old daughter outside her family's home. Somalia has an adolescent birth rate of 102.6 births per 1,000 girls 15 to 19. In the United States, that rate is 21.2 births per 1,000 girls. In Sweden, it's 5.7 births per 1,000 girls.
Photos: The best and worst countries to be a child
Somalia: A former child bride, now 16, holds her 2-month-old daughter outside her family's home. Somalia has an adolescent birth rate of 102.6 births per 1,000 girls 15 to 19. In the United States, that rate is 21.2 births per 1,000 girls. In Sweden, it