Birthrates are plummeting world wide. Can governments turn the tide?
By 2100, 97% of countries may fall below replacement fertility rates due to economic instability, climate concerns, and changing social norms, despite government incentives failing to significantly boost birthrates.
Read original article
Birthrates are declining globally, with a University of Washington study predicting that by 2100, 97% of countries will fall below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman. Factors contributing to this trend include concerns about climate change, economic instability, and changing social norms regarding family and child-rearing. Many governments are implementing policies such as baby bonuses, subsidized childcare, and parental leave in an attempt to reverse this trend, but these measures have largely failed to produce significant increases in birthrates. Countries like South Korea and Japan, which have invested heavily in pro-natalist policies, continue to see low fertility rates. The United Nations has noted that women today are having, on average, one child fewer than in 1990, and the global population is expected to peak at around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s before declining. Experts warn that the demographic shift could lead to economic and social challenges, including an aging population and a shrinking workforce. While some low-income regions may see higher birthrates, wealthier nations are struggling to encourage families to have more children. The complexity of the issue suggests that solutions may require more than financial incentives, including addressing societal attitudes towards parenting and work-life balance.
- By 2100, 97% of countries are projected to be below replacement fertility rates.
- Governments are struggling to reverse declining birthrates despite various incentives.
- Economic factors and climate change concerns are significant deterrents to having children.
- Wealthier nations face unique challenges in encouraging higher fertility rates.
- Long-term solutions may require cultural shifts beyond financial incentives.
Related
Global Population to Shrink This Century as Birth Rates Fall
A UN report forecasts a global population decline by 2100 due to decreasing birth rates. Factors include changing values and fertility preferences. This shift may impact climate change and economies worldwide.
Singapore's Baby Bust: Record low births in 2023 deepen demographic crisis
Singapore faced a record low of 33,541 births in 2023, a 5.8% drop from 2022, alongside a total fertility rate of 0.97. Rising deaths and societal factors contribute to demographic challenges.
Britain is running out of babies
Britain's birth rates are declining, projected to decrease primary school-aged children by 10% in four years. This trend raises concerns about economic and social challenges due to an aging population.
Fewer people are deciding to have children
A Pew Research Center survey shows a rise in U.S. adults under 50 choosing not to have children, from 37% in 2018 to 47% in 2023, citing personal choice and financial concerns.
The Reason People Aren't Having Kids
Birth rates in wealthy countries, including the U.S., are declining due to economic factors and a lack of purpose among younger generations, suggesting that financial incentives alone are insufficient to encourage parenthood.
7 commentsI’m not advocating human extinction, nor even a return to some (fictional) 17th century agrarian Utopia. But I think there might be a sustainable, tech oriented, post-scarcity future that could exist.
Asking how we might get there actually ought to be the first question.
I am old enough to remember scare stories about how the population was going to outstrip available resources so those people should be pleased.
People don't like change, but responsible governments can make the hard decisions to deal with this. Life can go on,just not quite how we are used to it.
Yes, it's ok for birth rates to change. It would be prudent for us to prepare for the collapse of the economic bubble resulting from ever-expanding demand for everything. Maybe our AI overlords will have some suggestions for how to change our industrial and banking infrastructure to operate in a post-expansion world.
So, this business of baby bounties is political tenable, but not an actual solution.
> Australia’s fertility rate peaked at 3.5 in 1961. By 1975 – not long after Gough Whitlam abolished the luxury tax on the contraceptive pill – it had dropped to replacement level (2.1), and now
Strange that no one seems to be doing a comparison between then and now to find out what factors would encourage replacement levels. They'd probably find that they need to pay people more and ensure job security, which is never popular with the autocrats.
If consumers were a relatively rare commodity, then products would have to work extremely hard to compete for them. For example, perhaps housing prices would come back down to widely affordable levels.
Related
Global Population to Shrink This Century as Birth Rates Fall
A UN report forecasts a global population decline by 2100 due to decreasing birth rates. Factors include changing values and fertility preferences. This shift may impact climate change and economies worldwide.
Singapore's Baby Bust: Record low births in 2023 deepen demographic crisis
Singapore faced a record low of 33,541 births in 2023, a 5.8% drop from 2022, alongside a total fertility rate of 0.97. Rising deaths and societal factors contribute to demographic challenges.
Britain is running out of babies
Britain's birth rates are declining, projected to decrease primary school-aged children by 10% in four years. This trend raises concerns about economic and social challenges due to an aging population.
Fewer people are deciding to have children
A Pew Research Center survey shows a rise in U.S. adults under 50 choosing not to have children, from 37% in 2018 to 47% in 2023, citing personal choice and financial concerns.
The Reason People Aren't Having Kids
Birth rates in wealthy countries, including the U.S., are declining due to economic factors and a lack of purpose among younger generations, suggesting that financial incentives alone are insufficient to encourage parenthood.