Concomitantly, in many developing countries rapid demographic changes are occurring, affecting the availability of potential caregivers with the preferred kin, gender and geographic proximity characteristics, including major declines in fertility, increased longevity, and the movement of young people from rural areas (where their parents live) to urban areas (where better paying jobs are available). Declining fertility means that individuals will have fewer sons and daughters alivewhen they reach the agewhen theymight need assistance. As many developing countries are approaching replacement level fertility or even lower, the likelihood that
individuals will have even one son or daughter diminishes sharply. Increasing longevity means that people will have an even longer period in their lives when they need assistance. And finally, most developing countries are undergoing rapid and massive shifts from rural to urban areas. Typically it is the young adults who aremoving to urban areas, and this creates a
geographic mismatch in the locations of older individuals and their children.