Overpopulation is a frightening concept. But is the world actually overpopulated? No. Will it be in the future? Unlikely because population growth is slowing and most demographers expect a levelling off in the future. Also, with advances in technology massive efficiencies can be made.
The birthrate in China fell last year even though the country has changed its One Child policy to allow two children. Reasons given for the low birth rate were the trend toward later marriage, the desire for smaller families and concerns about the high cost of raising children.
With almost 1.4 billion people, China has the world's largest population but it is aging fast even before reaching its expected peak of 1.45 billion in 2029.
China's policy was changed in 2015 in an attempt to increase the size of the younger working population that will eventually have to support their elders. The number of births rose nearly 8% in 2016, with nearly half of the babies born to couples who already had a child. But that appears to have been a one-time increase.
Experts have recommended the country increase its retirement age to address an expected labor shortage and declining economic vitality.
One woman, a housewife in Beijing, pointed out that the burden of looking after aging parents is one reason not to have a second child. "They helped us look after one child, but we would have to babysit the second one ourselves."
"Until the young one is 2, mother won't be able to work which means a big loss of income that we're not prepared for," another person said.
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