[Godstud]

I really hate to agree with Igor, but birth rates dropping in very wealthy countries is nothing to be concerned about, as scientists still seem to be worried about world overpopulation.

Most countries are already dealing with the low birthrates by having solid immigration. eg. Canada brings in 250k/year.

From the most developed to the least developed countries, knowing the rate at which a nation's population is increasing or decreasing is helpful. One of the most commonly used metrics to measure this growth is fertility rate.

[late]

Global population growing by 80 million/year

Wahhh but muh demographic crisis!

Since 1960, the rate of population growth has been declining steadily. Ignoring Covid, for a moment, it's roughly half what it was.

Between deaths caused directly by Covid, and deaths caused indirectly from starvation and war, we are in a period of even lower pop. growth.

The rate will continue to drop. There is nothing mysterious about that.

Go back a couple hundred years, and a population would look like a pyramid. The young, and young adults, would make up half or more of the pop. The older a person was, the smaller that cohort was as a % of the pop. IOW, very few old people.

That pyramid is upside down now.

In general, after the Boomers, subsequent generations have gotten smaller, globally.

This is already causing problems, but it's going to get much, much worse. Let's take China, as an example. Thanks to the One Child Policy, the population of China will drop. In a generation, or two, the pop. could be HALF what it is now.

This is baked in, the only way to change that is immigration.

That's going to happen in most countries. Most won't see that much of a drop, in a few countries it will be even worse. We will have less of a problem, due entirely to immigration.

You're stuck in the 70s.

[Godstud]

The world would be a much better place with a lot less people, and eventually, I have no doubt we'll be there. A post-scarcity civilization, and economy, would be nice.

[Morgan Le Fey]

Brah, viruses change DNA!

Your blood type exists because of viral mutations to the human genome. (Various sugars stuck to your RBCs), not to mention early in evolution it's thought viruses contributed to the rise of several organ systems.

Also, take your shot you big baby.

[MistyTiger]

I agree with @Godstud and @Igor Antunov about finite resources. I dread the time when there isn't enough food to go around and we end up eating powder. As it is, some food we eat is synthetic. Like for example, Taiwan has a pineapple pie and it is one of their delicacies. Nowadays some of the pineapple pies do not contain pineapple anymore, it might contain rubber or something else. It is sad but what can you do? They cannot grow pineapple fast enough to keep up with the demand.

And as others have said, as inflation grows and economies are on shaky ground, fewer people can afford to build a family. It is just too expensive. I know in the states, living costs are rising so fast and the wages are not being raised fast enough or high enough. I know that even if I wanted kids, my income would not be enough. It is not enough for me to pay for apartment rent all by myself! I know a lot of people split the rent payments. I know one family who shares the rent burden with at least two other families, talk about crowded!

How much is it to raise and feed one baby? A lot!

[Godstud]

@MistyTiger Those pineapple pies do not contain rubber. It's illegal everywhere to feed people inedible things, and Taiwan is no exception. When you hear about synthetics in food, it's always myth as the materials they say they put in them, would be more expensive than to put real food into them. That they might have substitutes like soy, is possible.

https://www.siftandsimmer.com/taiwanese ... eng-li-su/