--- title: One in Six People Have Infertility, WHO Report Says description: Researchers found little difference between high, middle, and low-income countries, and urged countries to do more to help people conceive. canonical: https://time.com/6268395/infertility-rates-world-health-organization/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-04-04T13:45:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T15:41:09.852Z article:section: Health og:title: One in Six People Have Infertility, World Health Organization Says og:description: Researchers found little difference between high, middle, and low-income countries og:url: https://time.com/6268395/infertility-rates-world-health-organization/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e5a797a0afb7bef/6988cc0997cdff66c36b08ef/time-health-stock-pregnancy-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME Health stock pregnancy pregnant og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: One in Six People Have Infertility, World Health Organization Says twitter:description: Researchers found little difference between high, middle, and low-income countries twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e5a797a0afb7bef/6988cc0997cdff66c36b08ef/time-health-stock-pregnancy-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # One in Six People Have Infertility, World Health Organization Says ## Video: New Questions About IVF Testing [Watch (HLS stream): New Questions About IVF Testing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DhDUUUt7.m3u8) (4:51)  _Published 2022-09-07. Each year, tens of thousands of people in the U.S. try to conceive using in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process through which eggs are fertilized in a lab, then transferred to the patient's uterus. Even though IVF has become relatively common, it’s not a sure bet._ by [Suzi Ring/Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Suzi Ring/Bloomberg Apr 4, 2023 1:45 PM UTC  Silhouette of a pregnant woman...sun and nice blue sky behind her.similar image: Silhouette of a pregnant woman...sun and nice blue sky behind her.similar image:Getty Images by [Suzi Ring/Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Suzi Ring/Bloomberg Apr 4, 2023 1:45 PM UTC Infertility affects one in six people globally, according to a report from the World Health Organization, which urged countries to do more to help people conceive. Researchers found little difference between high, middle, and low-income countries in the report published Tuesday. Treatment must be funded privately in most nations, leaving many people struggling with mental health issues or financial hardship, according to the WHO. The health agency defines infertility as the inability to achieve a pregnancy after at least 12 months of regular unprotected sex. The researchers couldn’t identify the key drivers of the problem, which can stem from men or women’s reproductive systems, because of a lack of clinical data. Infertility “can have wide-reaching, negative impacts on the lives of the people affected,” Pascale Allotey, the WHO’s director of sexual and reproductive health and research, said at a press conference. --- ### More from TIME --- **Read More**: [_Why It’s So Hard to Have Your Fertility Tested_](https://time.com/6253707/fertility-testing-difficult/) The study didn’t allow the authors to determine if infertility is getting better or worse globally, but there was no evidence of the latter, they told journalists. A previous estimate in 2012 didn’t show rates were increasing either, they said. The scientists, who analyzed research from 1990 to 2021, praised countries such as Morocco, Indonesia, and Argentina for recent changes to how infertility is funded and treatments are made available. The WHO plans to publish guidelines later this year for countries on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the issue. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6268395/infertility-rates-world-health-organization/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6268395/infertility-rates-world-health-organization/"},"headline":"One in Six People Have Infertility, World Health Organization Says","datePublished":"2023-04-04T13:45:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:41:09.852Z","description":"Researchers found little difference between high, middle, and low-income countries.","url":"https://time.com/6268395/infertility-rates-world-health-organization/","keywords":["Research","wire","healthscienceclimate","bloomberg wire"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e5a797a0afb7bef/6988cc0997cdff66c36b08ef/time-health-stock-pregnancy-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suzi Ring/Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e5a797a0afb7bef/6988cc0997cdff66c36b08ef/time-health-stock-pregnancy-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME Health stock pregnancy pregnant","caption":"","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6268395/infertility-rates-world-health-organization/","name":"One in Six People Have Infertility, World Health Organization Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"New Questions About IVF Testing","description":"Each year, tens of thousands of people in the U.S. try to conceive using in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process through which eggs are fertilized in a lab, then transferred to the patient's uterus. 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