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 […]
The world is facing an unprecedented crisis and a population crash which scientists say will require a re-organisation of societies, according to a new study. It’s forecasted that 23 countries will see their populations shrink by more than 50% including Spain, Italy and Japan – with massive negative knock-on effects for economic growth, jobs and […]
Turkey is a young country with a quickly growing population. Nearly a quarter of Turkey’s 84 million people are children, below the age of 15, while less than 9 per cent are elderly (over the age of 65). Turkey’s population is also a quickly growing one: in the last fifty years it has nearly trebled […]
Japan is in an interesting geostrategic position. It has a constitution that states that the “Japanese people forever renounce war” but it lies in a neighbourhood in which war is unlikely to be able to be renounced. Across the Sea of Japan lies North Korea which has been known to kidnap Japanese chefs from time […]
Norway is a country that appears to have fared well during the Covid-19 pandemic thus far. However, the country has another worrying problem it must also face: the population is aging fast, meaning tough economic times still lie ahead. Norway is a country that appears to have fared well during the Covid-19 pandemic thus […]
Last week the Italian parliament passed a bill aimed at boosting the country’s low birth rate by supporting parents. “We have approved the Family Act to support parenting, combat the falling birth rate, encourage the growth of children and young people, and the help parents reconcile of family life with work, especially for women,” Premier Giuseppe Conte […]
Iran went through a baby boom in the 1980s. This was in the aftermath of the revolution in 1979 and while the country was in the midst of a war that would leave at least a third of a million of its people dead. Families were encouraged to strengthen Iran by producing “soldiers for Islam” […]
China seems to be on the march at the moment. It is tightening its grip on Hong Kong, conducting large scale exercises and manoeuvers near Taiwan as a warning, and in its standoff with India has killed a score of Indian soldiers. It is certainly taking its chances as the West, particularly the USA, tears itself apart. China also seems to […]