The U.S. birthrate has declined for the 6th year in a row, because of changing attitudes towards having children. Pew Research Center did a survey of 3,866 women aged 18-49 and men aged 18-59 and asked them: “Thinking about the future, how likely is it that you will have children someday?” In 2021, only 26 …
Author Archives: Rob Skelton
China’s Birthrate: New Low
Predictions for populations from places like the United Nations, don’t account for accelerating change, as we see in China currently. Latest inducements are not helping, and fewer people are marrying: Figures released by the country’s national bureau of statistics show there were 8.5 births per 1,000 people in 2020, the first time in decades that …
India: Below Replacement Rate
Most people would be surprised to know that in recent years India has only been slightly above the nominal replacement rate of 2.1 – and now it is below that: India’s most recent National Family Health Survey, which is conducted every five years by the Health Ministry, was released Wednesday and showed the total fertility rate …
Low Birth Rates Become Fixed
When we see major drops in birth rates over a short period of time it will triggered by something – most recently the Global Financial Crisis, and currently the pandemic. The curious thing is that the new rate gets locked in, even when the initial cause dissipates. Between 1980 and 2007, U.S. birth rates stayed …
Blame the Lefties
Thinking of the US, I am confident that I don’t need to look up the facts regarding which side of political persuasion has the most kids. That this opinion comes from a “hillbilly” makes sense. The author turned Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance has blamed America’s woes on “the childless left”, singling out Vice-President Kamala Harris, transportation …
China’s Plan – Group Weddings
In my opinion, China will one day shift from weak, ineffective attempts to increase fertility, to harsh, ineffective policies. I don’t think their way of running things is conducive to the gentle but nuanced encouragement that is required. For example: In Chongqing, one of China’s biggest cities, engaged couples will soon be eligible for a …
Iran – Drop in Fertility Rates
I can’t imagine that the decline is related to a growing middle class and the increased rights of women, which are the typical reasons, still: The fertility rate in Iran has been declining over the past eight years, the lowest of which was related to the past [Iranian calendar] year (March 2019-March 2020) with a …
Korea’s Ageing Foreign Workers
While globally we won’t be able to avoid population decline, individual countries will keep on making easy (immigration) and difficult (encouraging births) paths towards growth. Without economic growth, there is apparently doom. And with population growth comes a rise in GDP. Korea, like Japan, is notoriously an anti-immigration monoculture. Any actual immigrants or resident foreign …