The population crisis used to be about exponential growth, now for many countries it is population decline. In Japan, Korea, and China, populations are already falling. At current birth rates Japan's population, almost twice that of Britain is predicted to fall below Britain's by the end of the century. But birth rates are falling across the globe. To maintain population levels birth rates need to average a little over two. For the US and every country in Europe, it is now less than two. Some are almost half this level. Many explanations are offered, but the answer and its solution remain unknown. Governments facing decline have tried increasingly radical interventions, encouraging couples to have children with financial rewards and free child care, but with no success.
Will population decline lead to economic and social collapse as some argue? Could technology come to the rescue making it unnecessary for women to give birth? Or should we welcome the change as a means to contain the plague of humans that many believe threatens the planet?