The latest study published in the Lancet journal revealed that for the first time in centuries, the world’s population is set to decrease, starting in the next few decades.

Current Predicaments

Up to 23 countries, including Japan, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and South Korea, could see their populations drop by 50% as a result of low birth rates and a geriatric population. 

Even China, the most crowded country in the world and a nation frequently associated with excessive population growth has a projected decline from 1.4 billion people to 732 million in 2100. 

A Little Bit More

Stein Emil Vollset, the study’s lead author and Professor of Global Health at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), explained the research.

“The last time that global population declined was in the mid 14th century, due to the Black Plague,” he told IFLScience. “If our forecast is correct, it will be the first time population decline is driven by fertility decline, as opposed to events such as a pandemic or famine.”

The population graph is going down!

Some countries, however, are forecasted to see an increase in population. North Africa, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to triple in population from 1.03 billion in 2017 to 3.07 billion in 2100.

“Africa and the Arab World will shape our future, while Europe and Asia will recede in their influence,” said Vollset. “By the end of the century, the world will be multipolar, with India, Nigeria, China, and the U.S. the dominant powers.”

Factors Involved

The two factors that are involved in the reduction of the population are improvements in the line of contraceptives and the education of girls and women. According to Vollset, the average number of times a woman gives birth is predicted to steadily decline from 2.37 in 2017 to 1.66 in 2100.

This means that the numbers go down below the minimum threshold to keep the population steady, which stands at 2.1 live births per woman.


Also Read: Is UP Ready For A Population Control Bill?


The education aspects also come into the scenario, as education helps provide an opportunity for women to seek their own dreams in the world and later to realize that the world is already overpopulated and is filled to the brim. 

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk sees this as impending doom, wherein if there are not enough births, there will be an extinction of human life as we know it. 

Musk calls for repopulation!

Various fictional accounts have had unique approaches to the population control for humans, which ranged from Dan Brown’s Inferno having a sterility virus that affects randomly or Thanos snapping his fingers to restore balance to the universe.

The population problem was real, it has always been real. The only hope is to keep it at balance, not too low for extinction and not too high to drain the resources.


Image Courtesy: Google Images

Sources: National Post, Republic World, Money Control

Connect with the Blogger: Shouvonik Bose

This post is tagged under: population decrease, population control, 2 child policy, tubectomy, vasectomy, population control, birth control, abortion, family health, family planning, birth, child, education, sex education, literary, fertility, fertility rate, rural population, do we need population control


Also Recommended: 

FlippED: Does India Need A Population Control Act? Our Bloggers Fight It Out

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here