Final answer:
The total fertility rate refers to the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime, not the number of children born annually per 1,000 people in the population. This is a different measure than the crude birth rate, which expresses live births per 1,000 people annually.
Step-by-step explanation:
False. The total fertility rate is not the number of children born annually for every 1,000 people in the population. The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of children a woman would have if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with the prevailing age-specific fertility rates. In contrast, the crude birth rate quantifies the number of births per 1,000 people per year.
TFR is an estimate for a whole population and is a more comprehensive measure because it accounts for the age distribution of women in childbearing years, which can vary widely among populations. When discussing the replacement level, a TFR of 2.1 indicates that a population is replacing itself in terms of population numbers, while values below or above this figure suggest population decline or growth, respectively. These figures provide deep insights into demographic and economic trends impacting society.