Population control is the practice of artificially altering the size of any population. It typically refers to the act of limiting the size of an animal population so that it remains manageable, as opposed to the act of protecting a species from excessive rates of extinction, which is referred to as conservation biology.

[File:Countriesbyfertilityrate.svg|thumb|350px|A world map showing countries by fertility rate. Period 2015. (See List of countries and territories by fertility rate.) ]]