World Population

This evening I got into a discussion with someone about the size of families. She was adamant that any parents having more than 2 children, except in the case of twins, triplets, etc. was extremely selfish. I asked her why. She responded with two words: "Overpopulation Problems".

A few years ago I would have blindly nodded and said, "Yes, you're right." But then I read Mark Steyn's landmark book, America Alone. What I learned is that there is an overpopulation problem in the 3rd World but in the so-called 1st World, there's actually a HUGE population deficit. When I say such a thing, many people don't believe me. So let me present you with some a completely neutral source: NationMaster.com

The table I've referred you to is "Total fertility rate", which is the number of children born to each woman. In order for a population to not shrink or grow, the rate needs to be 2.1 on average. Why this value? Every man & woman need to have 2 children in order to "replace" themselves. But because of premature deaths and people not procreating, there have to be a few more babies born. That's where the '2.1' number comes from. If you're interested in a more detailed explanation, click here.

So what do the numbers reveal? The 4 countries in the world with the highest birth rates are all poverty stricken ones in Africa:

• #1: Mali - 7.38
• #2: Niger - 7.37
• #3: Uganda - 6.84
• #4: Somalia - 6.68

And the 4 countries in the world with the lowest birth rates are tiny, wealthy ones in Asia:

• #218: Taiwan - 1.12
• #219: Singapore - 1.07
• #220: Macau - 1.03
• #221: Hong Kong - 0.98

Here are some selected countries from the list:

• #109: Mexico - 2.39
• #126: United States - 2.09
• #135: France - 1.98
• #174: United Kingdom - 1.66
• #180: Canada - 1.61
• #193: Germany - 1.4
• #194: Russia - 1.39
• #204: Italy - 1.29
• #205: Spain - 1.29
  
• #212: Japan - 1.23

So before nodding your head in similar discussions in the future, now you can pass on the actual facts of the situation.