Having children is increasingly becoming an “economic luxury”, with falling birth rates threatening to widen social inequalities as the rising cost of living prevents many people from having children, according to Foreign Affairs.
Wealthier and more educated families are now having more children than poorer families, reversing a trend that had prevailed for decades.
This points to a world in which demographic inequality will compound economic inequality, widening gaps both within and between countries. Birth rates are falling worldwide, but at different rates and in different ways. These differences could deepen divisions, fuel tensions and even lead to conflicts.
The UN’s central projections suggest that the global population could begin declining in 2084.
The central projections in the latest edition of the United Nations’ World Population Prospects (2024) still place the global total fertility rate slightly above replacement level in 2026 and project that the world’s population could begin declining in 2084.
However, the global fertility crisis may be more severe than commonly believed. Some estimates suggest that the world’s population could begin declining around 2055, nearly three decades earlier than the UN’s baseline projection.
Source: Foreign Affairs
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