Scientists Warn That The World is Headed Towards Massive Population Decline

With an estimated global population of 7.8 billion people, the world looks a bit too crowded sometimes, especially if we consider how tremendously the number had increased in a short amount of time. Only two decades ago, 6.11 billion people were living on the planet.

But such an upswing will soon face its reverse, according to researchers that published their conclusions in the Lancet recently. They believe that fewer people than before want to have babies, and this will impact the world’s society tremendously.

Many countries’ populations will be declining during the current century

Luckily enough or not, many of us won’t be around during the massive population decline that the researchers are talking about. Their claim is that the global population will face its maximum at 9.7 billion around the year 2064, and then decline to 8.8 billion towards the end of the current century.

Christopher Murray, who is co-author of the study and working at the University of Washington, Seattle, suggests that such a decline will cause the world plenty of headaches:

I think it’s incredibly hard to think this through and recognize how big a thing this is; it’s extraordinary, we’ll have to reorganize societies.

Murray also details that countries like Spain, Portugal, and Thailand will have about half of their current populations by the end of the century. There are even more significant problems lurking in the shadows: if fewer babies are born and the countries will have a massively aged population, who will pay tax? Who will pay for the healthcare of the elders? Will anybody still be looking after them?

Luckily for us all, those realities are way ahead of us, which means that we have plenty of time to come up with solutions. It’s our duty as Earthlings to grant a decent planet for our children and nephews.

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