It’s a long-held political axiom among nationalists in the north that the demographic trend would eventually put Sinn Féin in power in Northern Ireland. Because Catholics tended to have larger families they would eventually outvote unionists, or so it was commonly believed. This, of course, contributed to the sectarian violence and terrorism of unionist militias, from […]
People who travel to South Korea often say that the most delightful aspect of their visit was the Korean people, who are hospitable, friendly, and “civic minded.” But those notoriously nice people come up way short in one very important aspect: reproducing. In 1960, South Korea’s fertility rate was 6.0. In 2020, it was 0.84. […]
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is an enigma to many in the lands formerly known as the “free West.” However, it would behoove us to take note of his opening remarks in his Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly (comparable to the U.S. State of the Union) on February 15, 2021. He began thus: Colleagues, Russia’s future and historical perspective […]
The so-called Enlightenment placed man at the center of the universe, edging aside the “God-centered” worldview once prevalent among Western elites. Then came the Industrial Revolution, spawning the age of “Economic Man.” Matters of consequence came to be viewed primarily through the prism of economic impact. That is something that both Karl Marx and the robber barons […]
“Armenia is facing a demographic catastrophe,” Nune Pashayan, a health department official, told a news conference this week. The government plans to triple funding for reproductive programs. Mr Pashayan cited a number of statistics. The fertility rate is 1.6 (and needs to be 2.1 to maintain the population). According to the latest data, 14.9% of women […]
Ms. magazine is the unabashed holy grail of feminism. Right on the masthead it says “More than a Magazine, a Movement.” But just what is feminism? Like many buzz words in our pestilential popular culture, the term is used like a sledgehammer to set the parameters of permissible public discourse. It is a set piece of […]
There was no population growth at all in Germany in 2020, for the first time since 2011. It wasn’t because fewer babies were born, though the birth rate did drop slightly in 2020. Normally, Germany’s population growth results solely from positive net immigration. In fact, without immigration, the population would have actually been shrinking since 1972. Covid-19 restrictions […]
2020 was a year of record population lows. Newly released Census Bureau population estimates show record lows in United States population growth, both in 2020 and for the entire 2010-to-2020 decade. California’s population shrank for the first time as far back as records go, with the Census Bureau estimates indicating that California’s population decreased by about 69,000 residents in […]
As Shannon noted a few days ago, the upcoming Chinese census may spur the Communist Party there to further relax its family planning laws or even to abolish them altogether. This is to be welcomed from a human rights point of view, and is perhaps to be expected from a demographic point of view. The previous […]
China began its once-a-decade census on November 1st. About seven million community workers and volunteers will help to count the world’s largest population. It is expected to take two months to complete, with the results released in April 2021. Over 400,000,000 households will be included, from the country’s largest cities to its most remote villages. Though there […]
Today I thought that I’d draw your attention to a particularly repulsive ad that graces a bus stop in Vancouver. The ad features a picture of a cute baby, smiling, looking with joy out at commuters. Underneath it, the ad says: “The most loving gift you can give your first child is not to have another.” […]
In 2019, Ireland’s birth rate fell even further, sliding to the lowest level ever on record according to the Central Statistics Office. That means we’re having far fewer children now than we did when this was a much poorer country, with less resources and supports available to families. If children, according to the UN, are an expression of […]