Archive - November 20, 2024

By Lex Rieffel (India 1965-67), Founder of the From the Bridge Foundation; former U.S. Treasury Department economist and Brookings Institution scholar. Co-author: WANG Xueqing, PhD candidate at Princeton University, Office of Population Research, focused on population aging and family change. Original article: The Centre on Contemporary China and the World (CCCW) at the University of Hong Kong In early 2023, China announced its first population decline since the Cultural Revolution, marking a significant milestone in its demographic history. This decline highlights a broader global trend toward decreasing fertility rates. According to the latest UN World Population Prospects report, issued in July 2024, the world’s population is expected to peak before the end of this century. The number of countries experiencing very low fertility rates has been steadily increasing. One in four people now live in a country whose population has already peaked. This includes nations as diverse as Germany, Japan, . . .