Falling Fertility: A Crisis We Refuse to Face

Birth rates across the developed world have fallen well below replacement levels and are not projected to rise or rebound in any meaningful way in the future.

This means ageing societies, mounting fiscal strain, and shrinking populations.

Few institutions are talking about the fertility collapse in the West .

Immigration has allowed developed nations to avoid confronting the implications of falling fertility rates and population decline.

Many institutions still operate under the assumption that population growth is the real problem, rather than population decline.

Academia and think tanks are disproportionately staffed by highly educated professionals who are more likely to be childless or have smaller families.

We must learn to speak of having children not just as a private milestone, but as a shared civic good.