A surprising reason why fertility rates have fallen so much

Mar 27, 2023 by

by Dr Angelo Bottone, Iona Institute:

Over the past 70 years, there has been a global decline in fertility rates, with a total fall of 50pc. In most parts of the world, fertility rates are now well below the replacement level of 2.1 babies per woman. (Ireland’s fertility rate is about 1.6, from a peak of 3.9 births per woman in the early 1960s).

Data scientist and filmmaker Stephen J. Shaw has travelled to 24 countries and analysed millions of data points in order to understand global fertility rates and predict the future population of the Earth. The results, presented in his documentary, “Birthgap”, are alarming.

It is a common belief that there are too many people on this planet, but the truth is that there is a real risk that the overall population will collapse, with dramatic consequences. Shaw predicts a humanitarian crisis of lonely old people.

Even if the overall number of people is still growing, soon the trend will reverse, as it is already happening in many countries.

Seventy percent of countries worldwide are currently below the population tipping point. As the number of newborns continue to decline, there will be a greater responsibility for supporting a larger elderly population.

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