Within countries, however, there are still significant disparities in the average number of children bom in different social groups; this reflects the socioeconomic inequalities that continue to define Latin America as one of the most unequal regions in the world. This is also the case with indigenous peoples, whose fertility' rates are systematically higher, although in this case the figures have to be interpreted in the light of coexisting factors of inequality and cultural ideals that value high fertility. However, in the past three decades socio-economic factors and demographic trends have behaved relatively' independently.