Britain’s birth rate halves as wealthy countries face ‘low fertility future’
6 months ago

Britain’s birth rate halves as wealthy countries face ‘low fertility future’

The Telegraph  

Britain’s birth rate has fallen to a record low as a growing number of women shun parenthood. The UK’s birth rate is currently 1.53 children per woman, which the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development classes as well below the 2.1 needed to maintain a country’s population at its current level. Over the past decade the UK’s birth rate has fallen by 20.5pc, which is the largest drop of any country in the G7, according to the OECD. Declining birth rates could lead to a fall in the world’s population by the next decade, the OECD said, warning that deaths could outpace births for the first time in at least half a century.

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History of this topic

EU's baby bust: New data reveals the terrifying population plunges across the continent that are set to condemn future generations to life in a crippled economy
2 weeks, 5 days ago

EU's baby bust: New data reveals the terrifying population plunges across the continent that are set to condemn future generations to life in a crippled economy

Daily Mail  

Births in the EU last year plunged to an all-time low, heightening 'underpopulation' fears. Every single EU nation has a fertility rate – the average number of kids per childbearing woman – well below the replacement rate of 2.1, the number needed for the population to remain static. The UK's fragile economy and cost-of-living crisis is also putting people off …

UK Births to British-Born Parents Tumble to Lowest on Record
1 month, 2 weeks ago

UK Births to British-Born Parents Tumble to Lowest on Record

Live Mint  

-- The proportion of UK births to two parents also born in the country slipped below 60% last year for the first time since records began, as the rising cost of living and lifestyle changes dented Britons’ desire to have children. Just 58.9% of live births in England and Wales were to families where both parents were declared as born …

Germany's birth rate continues to sharply decline
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Germany's birth rate continues to sharply decline

China Daily  

Germany is experiencing a decline in birth rates, dropping from 1.58 children per woman in 2021 to 1.35 in the latest figures, with the east of the country showing an even steeper decrease than the west. The country's official federal statistical office, Destatis, reported a further decline, with about 392,000 children born in Germany between January and July 2024, marking …

Chinese government is calling women, asking when their last period was, and urging them to get pregnant
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Chinese government is calling women, asking when their last period was, and urging them to get pregnant

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Women in China say they …

I'm 36, single... and I'm not going to be a mother. Here's the exact reason why Millennial women like me aren't having children, writes ISOLDE WALTERS
1 month, 3 weeks ago

I'm 36, single... and I'm not going to be a mother. Here's the exact reason why Millennial women like me aren't having children, writes ISOLDE WALTERS

Daily Mail  

Earlier this month, I spent a full-on weekend with my three-year-old goddaughter Hettie, culminating on Sunday morning with ‘messy church’ – a two-hour-long toddler-filled extravaganza of arts, crafts and puppet shows based on Bible stories. Isolde Walters writes that many of her peers who do not want children graduated with student debt when the 2008 financial crisis hit and are …

Fertility rate in England and Wales drops to new record low
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Fertility rate in England and Wales drops to new record low

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The total fertility rate across England and Wales dropped to …

Fertility rate for England and Wales plummets to lowest level since 1930s
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Fertility rate for England and Wales plummets to lowest level since 1930s

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The fertility rate …

Japan’s birth rate hits alarming new low in first half of 2024
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Japan’s birth rate hits alarming new low in first half of 2024

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Japan marked 350,074 births between January to June, which …

The truth about why we stopped having babies
3 months, 3 weeks ago

The truth about why we stopped having babies

The Independent  

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about …

Richer societies mean fewer babies. Right?
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Richer societies mean fewer babies. Right?

Hindustan Times  

In a speech to the Vatican in January, Pope Francis made an observation fit for an economist. In every European country the total fertility rate, the expected number of children a woman will have in her lifetime, has now fallen below 2.1, the level needed to maintain a stable population without immigration. A recent review of the literature by Matthias …

JD Vance's divisive 'childless cat lady' comments highlight very real concerns about America's future that could cost YOU thousands
4 months, 3 weeks ago

JD Vance's divisive 'childless cat lady' comments highlight very real concerns about America's future that could cost YOU thousands

Daily Mail  

Donald Trump's VP pick JD Vance spent last week sweltering in the spotlight after his past quotes calling Democratic leaders 'a bunch of childless cat ladies' went viral. Trump's VP pick JD Vance faced scrutiny after his past quotes calling Democratic leaders 'a bunch of childless cat ladies' went viral - but the quote speaks to real concerns: US birthrates …

France to offer all 18 to 25-year-olds free fertility checks to combat falling birth rates
7 months, 2 weeks ago

France to offer all 18 to 25-year-olds free fertility checks to combat falling birth rates

Daily Mail  

France, a nation so famous for its lovers that it has a kiss named after it, needs help making babies. Mr Macron's campaign, which he hinted at in January when he called for a 'demographic rearmament', comes despite France having one of the highest birth rates in Western Europe. France's fertility rate, a national measure of the average number of …

Fertility levels drop below one in many Asian nations: Data
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Fertility levels drop below one in many Asian nations: Data

The Hindu  

Many countries in East and Southeast Asia are in the middle of a population crisis, with fewer births every year and record-low fertility rates. Currently, in four countries — South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan — the fertility rates are lower than one. Chart 1 | The chart shows the TFR in China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and …

Fertility rate: what women who had five or more kids want you to know.
54 years, 11 months ago

Fertility rate: what women who had five or more kids want you to know.

Slate  

Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, a Harvard Ph.D.–holding economist at the Catholic University of America, in Washington, has eight children. By picking college-educated women, she writes, “I could get a cleaner sense of the role of kids in subjects’ descriptions of self-identity, marital quality, and life satisfaction without confounding variables from poverty and financial worry, since college education makes those things less …

Why will low birthrate in Europe trigger ‘Staggering social change’?
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Why will low birthrate in Europe trigger ‘Staggering social change’?

Al Jazeera  

A recent report by the Lancet says Western countries will be forced to open borders to migration if they are to survive. But almost 700 years after this infamous pandemic became the last worldwide phenomenon to reduce global population levels by such a huge amount, a new report has warned of the “staggering social change” posed by plummeting fertility rates …

Falling birth rates will leave UK reliant on immigration until 2100, scientists warn
9 months ago

Falling birth rates will leave UK reliant on immigration until 2100, scientists warn

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. They said that for countries with low fertility rates, …

Births crisis: Nearly every country to shrink by 2100, study warns
9 months ago

Births crisis: Nearly every country to shrink by 2100, study warns

Al Jazeera  

Sub-Saharan Africa to account for one in every two children born in 2100, Lancet study says. “Global recognition of the challenges around migration and global aid networks are going to be all the more critical when there is fierce competition for migrants to sustain economic growth and as sub-Saharan Africa’s baby boom continues apace.” Dramatic declines in global fertility rates …

Birth rates fall to all-time lows in Japan and South Korea
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Birth rates fall to all-time lows in Japan and South Korea

The Telegraph  

South Korea’s fertility rate hit a record low in 2023, fuelling fears of “national extinction” as politicians scramble for solutions to reverse the population decline. Projections that it could nosedive further to 0.68 this year have stoked concern of a demographic time bomb that represents the biggest risk to South Korea’s economy, social welfare and health systems, as well as …

How the world’s falling birthrate is leading to economic catastrophe
10 months, 1 week ago

How the world’s falling birthrate is leading to economic catastrophe

The Telegraph  

“I had always known I didn’t want to have children, but why?” says Ruby Warrington. I realised that all the self-doubt and shame I’d felt about not wanting to have children had come from external pressure and conditioning.” As she researched the problem, she realised she was part of a global trend of women – and men – deciding not …

World’s population has passed 8 billion, says US Census Bureau
1 year, 1 month ago

World’s population has passed 8 billion, says US Census Bureau

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Feeling crowded yet? The US Census Bureau estimates the world’s population has passed 8 billion
1 year, 1 month ago

Feeling crowded yet? The US Census Bureau estimates the world’s population has passed 8 billion

Associated Press  

The human species has topped 8 billion, with longer lifespans offsetting fewer births, but world population growth continues a long-term trend of slowing down, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. While world population growth remains brisk, growing from 6 billion to 8 billion since the turn of the millennium, the rate has slowed since doubling between 1960 and 2000. Fertility …

India may face economic trouble as fertility levels drop
1 year, 2 months ago

India may face economic trouble as fertility levels drop

The Hindu  

India’s policymakers have long flaunted the massive economic benefits that the country will reap from its huge youth population. An ageing population, many economists believe, could turn out to mean serious economic trouble unless India manages to grow its economy at a rapid pace in the coming decades. As more elderly people come to depend on a shrinking working-age population, …

China's Fertility Rate Hits Record Low as Concerns Grow Over Population Decline
1 year, 4 months ago

China's Fertility Rate Hits Record Low as Concerns Grow Over Population Decline

News 18  

China’s fertility rate is estimated to have dropped to a record low of 1.09 in 2022, the National Business Daily said on Tuesday, a figure likely to rattle authorities as they try to boost the country’s declining number of new births. The state-backed Daily said the figure from China’s Population and Development Research Center put it as having the lowest …

Thinking beyond new births for a sustainable future
1 year, 5 months ago

Thinking beyond new births for a sustainable future

China Daily  

A nurse takes care of a newborn baby at Gansu Provincial Maternity and Childcare Hospital in Lanzhou. Since China has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, the issue has attracted global attention over the past year, which has fed into two huge news stories: China's population is declining, and India has "overtaken" China in terms of total …

Thinking beyond new births for a sustainable future
1 year, 5 months ago

Thinking beyond new births for a sustainable future

China Daily  

A nurse takes care of a newborn baby at Gansu Provincial Maternity and Childcare Hospital in Lanzhou. Since China has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, the issue has attracted global attention over the past year, which has fed into two huge news stories: China's population is declining, and India has "overtaken" China in terms of total …

China's biggest online travel agency to pay employees 1 bn yuan to have kids as population rapidly ages, birth rate fall
1 year, 5 months ago

China's biggest online travel agency to pay employees 1 bn yuan to have kids as population rapidly ages, birth rate fall

Firstpost  

Many Chinese women are reluctant to have more than one or even any children due to the high costs of child-rearing and as the lack of childcare means becoming a parent often entails giving up a career. As China is struggling with an ageing population and low birth rate, the country’s biggest online travel agency Trip.com Group announced on Friday …

The changing face of British mums: Fascinating charts lay bare decline of teen pregnancies
1 year, 8 months ago

The changing face of British mums: Fascinating charts lay bare decline of teen pregnancies

Daily Mail  

The conception rate for women aged 40 is at a record high of 17.3 per 1,000 A catalogue of official data today laid bare how drastically the face of motherhood has changed over the past few decades. Yet conceptions among teenagers have plunged over the same period, despite rebounding slightly last year The latest Office for National Statistics data shows …

South Korea shatters its own record for world’s lowest fertility rate: Report
1 year, 10 months ago

South Korea shatters its own record for world’s lowest fertility rate: Report

Hindustan Times  

South Korea has once again shattered its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate. According to the figures released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the fertility rate or the average number of expected babies per South Korean woman over her reproductive life, fell to 0.78 in 2022, down from 0.81 a year earlier, CNN reported. The fertility rate in …

Beijing now in position to deal with demographic challenges
2 years, 1 month ago

Beijing now in position to deal with demographic challenges

China Daily  

Tourists visit Badachu Park decorated with red lanterns in Beijing, China, October 2, 2019. Editor's note: The declining fertility rate is a challenge to China's economic and social development, but the central authorities are making big efforts to meet the challenge, writes a veteran journalist with China Daily. China's fertility rate has been continuously falling over the past few years, …

China will seek to boost birth rate in response to ageing population: Xi
2 years, 2 months ago

China will seek to boost birth rate in response to ageing population: Xi

Live Mint  

The Chinese government is planning to enact policies to boost the birth rate. On Sunday President Xi Jinping said there is an imminent decline in China's population and this could hurt the country's economy. While addressing over 2,000 delegates during a Communist Party meeting Xi said, "We will establish a policy system to boost birth rates and pursue a proactive …

Xi says China will seek to lift birth rate in face of ageing population
2 years, 2 months ago

Xi says China will seek to lift birth rate in face of ageing population

The Hindu  

China will enact policies to boost its birth rate, President Xi Jinping said on October 16, as policymakers worry that an imminent decline in China's population could hurt the world's second-biggest economy. "We will establish a policy system to boost birth rates and pursue a proactive national strategy in response to population ageing," Mr. Xi told some 2,300 delegates in …

The consequences of declining fertility are many
2 years, 3 months ago

The consequences of declining fertility are many

The Hindu  

Though the global population, in terms of numbers, has been steadily increasing — some reports suggest that it could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 — there is an interesting aspect to this: average global fertility has been consistently declining over the past 70 years. Britain took 130 years to transition from a fertility rate of five per woman …

Low birth rate could halve this country’s population by end of this century
2 years, 4 months ago

Low birth rate could halve this country’s population by end of this century

Live Mint  

South Korea has once again shattered its own record for the world’s lowest fertility rate as it faces the prospect of its population of 51 million people more than halving by the end of this century. Korea is the world’s fastest-aging nation among economies with per capita GDP of at least $30,000, according to United Nations global population projections and …

Europe faces ageing population nightmare in ‘absolute collapse’
2 years, 5 months ago

Europe faces ageing population nightmare in ‘absolute collapse’

The Telegraph  

Europe faces a demographic nightmare as the pandemic accelerates its population crunch, leaving nations grappling with shrinking workforces and rising numbers of elderly to support. New projections from the United Nations show an already serious, decades-long slowdown in population growth - featuring falling fertility and a surge in deaths - has been worsened by Covid. The impacts span the entire …

A new perspective on fertility and income levels
2 years, 7 months ago

A new perspective on fertility and income levels

The Hindu  

“The Economics of Fertility: A New Era,” Matthias Doepke, Anne Hannusch, Fabian Kindermann, and Michèle Tertilt, April 2022, NBER Working Paper No. The second important empirical observation has been the inverse relationship between women’s participation in the labour force and their fertility levels. Women’s labour and fertility levels In “The Economics of Fertility: A New Era”, researchers Matthias Doepke, Anne …

Nation addresses low fertility rate
3 years, 5 months ago

Nation addresses low fertility rate

China Daily  

Lack of child care services, cultural shifts cited for decline English-language teacher Yang Mengqi, who is in her late 20s, does not want to have a child for at least three years. Wang Guangzhou, a researcher at the academy's Institute of Population and Labor Economics, said, "I think education costs－including school enrollment fees－pressure to buy houses in school districts, as …

Economies need to rein in population risks
3 years, 7 months ago

Economies need to rein in population risks

China Daily  

MA XUEJING/CHINA DAILY Editor's Note: Aging populations have far-reaching impacts on East Asian economies. With that, China's fertility rate bounced back somewhat, reaching 1.58 in 2017, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. As Liang said, in 2017, the total fertility rate of 1.58 reflected a fertility rate of 0.67 for one-child families, 0.81 for two-child families, and 0.11 for …

US birth rate falls to lowest point in more than a century
3 years, 7 months ago

US birth rate falls to lowest point in more than a century

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The U.S. birth rate fell 4% last year, the largest single-year decrease in nearly 50 years, according to a government report being released Wednesday. The rate dropped for moms of every major race and ethnicity, and in nearly every age group, falling to the lowest point since federal health officials started tracking it more than a century …

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