Is there any sign of a decline in the global population?

Looking around the world, from East Asia to Europe, from the United States to Brazil, the trend of negative population growth is not uncommon-"like a tsunami that can already be seen on the horizon, it will rush to our eyes in an instant."

According to the data of World Population Outlook 2022 published by the United Nations, in 20021year, 38 countries are experiencing endogenous negative population growth, which mainly comes from long-term low fertility rate, mainly distributed in Europe, Asia and North America.

Signs of global population decline first began in Europe. Tao Tao, an associate professor at the School of Social and Population Studies of Renmin University of China, pointed out that Germany was the first country to experience negative population growth since 1950, and it began to experience negative population growth in the early 1970s. Hungary experienced the longest negative population growth, from 65,438+0,980 to 20,265,438+0, and the total population size decreased by nearly 65,438+00% in more than 40 years. Russia experienced negative population growth from 1994 until 2007. After restoring the positive population growth from 2008 to 20 19, a new round of negative population growth began in 2020.

In Asia, Japan continued to experience negative growth from 20 10, and the total population size decreased by about 3% in more than ten years. South Korea began to experience negative population growth in early 2020, and even some demographers predicted that it might become "the first country in the world to disappear".

In the face of negative population growth, encouraging fertility has become the basic coping strategies of various countries and regions, including providing medical and health care services for women and families, implementing maternity leave system, adopting flexible working system, and building nursery institutions. In addition, Sweden, South Korea, etc. It is also necessary to reduce the cost of childbirth through subsidies, rent reduction and tax reduction, and reduction of college tuition fees for children.

However, the depressing fact is that no country in the world with a low fertility rate has successfully reversed the downward trend of the number of births. In the face of negative population growth, encouraging fertility has become the basic coping strategies of various countries and regions, including providing medical and health care services for women and families, implementing maternity leave system, adopting flexible working system, and building nursery institutions. In addition, Sweden, South Korea, etc. It is also necessary to reduce the cost of childbirth through subsidies, rent reduction and tax reduction, and reduction of college tuition fees for children.

However, the depressing fact is that no country in the world with a low fertility rate has successfully reversed the downward trend of the number of births.

Therefore, absorbing immigrants has also become one of the important means to promote population growth. Tao Tao introduced that on the one hand, some countries have adopted policies to encourage immigrants, especially those with high quality and high technology. On the other hand, countries also ensure the social integration of non-nationals by strengthening social services, providing language training and improving laws and regulations.

In addition, in order to cope with the risk of labor force reduction and consumption reduction, increasing the labor participation rate of the elderly and women, and promoting industrial upgrading and technological progress have also become the focus of national policies in an effort to adapt to the consequences of negative population growth.