Fortune (January 20)
“Two-thirds of the world’s population already lives in countries where fertility is below” the replacement rate (an average fertility rate of 2.1 children per female). “Some of those economies are on track to see 20%-50% population declines by 2100, requiring big changes to societies and governments.” Younger people will also face a growing burden. “The world’s support ratio was 9.4 in 1997, or more than nine working-age people supporting one older person,” but this is expected to drop to just 3.9 by 2050 and currently stands at 6.5.
Tags: 1997, 2050, 2100, Burden, Children, Economies, Fertility, Governments, Population declines, Replacement rate, Support ratio, Two-thirds, Working-age
The Guardian (June 14)
“Decades of declining births mean there are no longer enough students to fill classrooms…. Taiwan is struggling to achieve the ‘replacement rate’ needed to maintain a stable population. That rate is 2.1 babies per woman, but Taiwan hasn’t hit that number since the mid-80s. In 2023, the rate was 0.865.”
Tags: Classrooms, Declining births, Population, Replacement rate, Stable, Struggling, Students, Taiwan
Market Watch (March 27)
Remote work was one of the “few positives” to emerge from the pandemic. Its various benefits have proven “particularly important for working women.” The U.S. birthrate has now slipped to just 1.6., well below the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. Remote work “could be a simple and cost-effective way to help women achieve a work-life balance and increase fertility rates for those who want to have children…. U.S. employers should take note, and be more willing to continue remote and hybrid work.”
Tags: Benefits, Birthrate, Children, Cost-effective, Employers, Fertility rates, Pandemic, Positives, Remote work, Replacement rate, Simple, U.S., Work-life balance, Working women
