We are glad to be able to bring you some good news: the world is going to have less douchebags on it for the first time in centuries. But that will come at a cost, according to Elon Musk.
A new study published in The Lancet shows the peak population will be at roughly 9.7 billion and then will drop to 8.8 billion by 2100.
Vollset told IFLScience:
“The last time that global population declined was in the mid 14th century, due to the Black Plague.
“If our forecast is correct, it will be the first time population decline is driven by fertility decline, as opposed to events such as a pandemic or famine”
More significantly, the population of up to 23 counties could shrink more than 50 percent.
Those countries include – Japan, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Portugal, South Korea.
Even China, a place associated with having a large population density, could fall from 1.4 billion people in 2017 to 732 million in 2100.
“There are two key factors: improvements in access to modern contraception and the education of girls and women,”
“These factors drive the fertility rate – the average number of children a woman delivers over her lifetime which is the largest determinant of population.
“The global total fertility rate is predicted to steadily decline, from 2.37 in 2017 to 1.66 in 2100, well below the minimum rate (2.1 live births per woman) considered necessary to maintain population numbers.”
The world’s richest man has issued a stark warning after the release of the study.
Musk warned the Wall Street Journal.:
“There are not enough people. I can’t emphasise this enough, there are not enough people,”
“I think one of the biggest risks to civilisation is the low grow rate and the rapidly-declining grow rate.
“And yet so many people – including smart people – think there are too many people in the world and think the population is growing out of control. It’s completely the opposite.
“Please look at the numbers, if people don’t have more children, civilization is going to crumble. Mark my words.”
