Depopulation

In 1969 we feared overpopulation, but times change. Today, scientists say, we should fear depopulation. 

We need to consider depopulation. It changes all sorts of things. 

Russian women average 1.8 children each; The country has more deaths than births. Russia is shrinking at a rate of about 60,000 people a month, not counting casualties of war. 

In China women average about one child each, less than half of what they need for stability. China has a navy made up of only children. 

In every major part of the world, with three exceptions, the population is shrinking and aging. In India, part of Africa and the USA, the populations are still growing.

Our country grows by immigration. 

Russia, Japan and China may soon lack enough young people to support their old people. The tax base is shrinking.  Businesses are closing. Pensions and health care systems may fail.  Remote communities will empty.  Frustration may lead to political extremism. 

Encouraging women to bear three children each is unlikely to help. Bearing children is a health risk for a woman, and children are expensive. A nation's best bet at the moment is to admit more immigrants. 

But most countries reject immigration.