What if Fewer Children Is Already a Trend?

Low population growth is in effect.

Image by beststudio

The number of people on Earth is like a pole vaulter at the very top of the arc, soon to fall back to Earth. In some places that descent has already begun

Russia, China, and America are but a few countries that will see minimal, stagnant, or negative population growth this year. All three have had declining growth in numbers before COVID.

We are on track to continue the downward trend in upticks of babies,

Russia

Russia lost a million people in 2021, according to the statistics agency Rosstat. There has not been a decrease as extreme since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Demographics plague Russia, so the 660,000 deaths from COVID sped up a process already underway.

Rosstat’s numbers are higher than data from the government agency. They may try to underplay the shift for political reasons.

Some think that the Russian government seeks to downplay the new normal to project a certain image. A low birth rate and a short life expectancy are long-standing realities.

People the age of prospective parents were born during the 1990s. That was a period of economic uncertainty. Experts surmise that early scarcity…