In this work we review and assess current trends and differences in fertility in European countries, and also the USA and Canada, with a particular emphasis on birth by order. Fertility levels are estimated for 11 countries using FFS data. We use indicators known as the Period Parity Progression Ratios (P-PPRs). These offer a more detailed view of the family formation process than the traditional Total Fertility Rate (TFR). They also yield better estimates of period total fertility intensity, because these ratios are free of the effects of changes in mean age at childbearing and in the distribution of births by order that affect the TFR
