Those with very low fertility rates that are below' the replacement level (Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Cuba) illustrate the diverse trajectories of the decline in fertility' in Latin America. In Costa Rica, for example, the fertility rate began to decline in 1965 and has plummeted from seven children per woman in 1965 to two children per w oman at present. Declines of this magnitude entail not only significant changes in macroeconomic terms but also radical transformations in family life, family burdens and the organization of society itself.