This is the third and final part of the post series where I explore the reasons behind the sharp change in birth rates currently happening everywhere around the world. I will also be looking to find answers to the question of whether it is really that bad if global populations decrease.
In the previous post (Part 1), I started looking into the question of why are birth rates (and fertility rates, which, while not technically synonymous, reflect the same trends) suddenly on the decline all around the globe. In this second part, I will focus more on the reasons behind this decline, both historical and more recent ones.
It’s early morning. After I have willed myself out of bed and got my kids ready for the day, I sit down to eat my breakfast (either soggy cereal or cold porridge, the staple of parents of young children everywhere) and read the news. The algorithm already knows what I am interested in, so most of the headlines I come across are at least vaguely intriguing. After a quick scroll, I notice it. Another one. I click and skim through the article, but there really isn’t anything new there. The title reads, ‘2023 saw the lowest recorded birth rate ever in insert random country’. I mentally archive the article with a dozen other similar ones I have come upon in the last several months, each about a different country around the world. They are all experiencing the same trend.
