There are more old people on the planet than children - than this threatens us

The past 2018 will go down in the history of the planet as the first year in the entire history of observations, when the number of elderly people exceeded the number of children under the age of 5 years. What is this talking about? If you do not go into details, in general, this means that the number of children is reduced compared with other age groups and the population of our planet is aging.

As a consequence of this process, we should expect a reduction in the world's population in the coming decades. But didn’t all those who feared catastrophic overpopulation and related environmental, food and social difficulties dreamed of it? It turns out that not everything is so simple, and a similar situation does not solve all these problems.

An increase in the proportion of people over 65 and a decrease in fertility are a trend of recent decades that is characteristic of developed countries. This process on a planetary scale was balanced by rapid population growth in developing countries. These regions provided an influx of labor migrants who supported the economy and ensured a stable population against a background of low birth rates. But, as official statistics cited by UN experts show, the situation may soon change, since even in developing countries, primarily in China, the birth rate begins to decline. According to this organization, in 2018 the number of people whose age exceeded 65 years old reached 705 million people, and the number of children under 5 years old did not exceed 680 million. And China last year completely broke all fertility records: such low indicators have not been here since the 40s of the last century.

At first glance, it might seem that this is not a big deal, and such a state of affairs will make it possible to combat the overpopulation of the planet and the lack of resources, including food and water. However, as demographers warn, such a ratio of the elderly population and children in the coming decades will result in a number of social and economic problems. A high proportion of older people creates an additional burden on the health care system and leads to an increase in social benefits, which, along with the shortage of the able-bodied population, ultimately affects economic development indicators.

The developed countries of Europe, Japan and South Korea are already feeling the negative effects of low fertility and an aging population. Experts predict a slowdown in economic growth and social problems in the foreseeable future. For this reason, leaders of developed countries are trying to find solutions to the problems that have arisen. For example, in Japan, they have increased the retirement age to 70 years, in China, all bans have been lifted and calls for the birth of children have been lifted, and many other countries have government programs to support fertility. But the problem is that in order to understand how effective the measures taken, it takes more than one year or even two. Further correction will require additional time, and, according to experts, not so much is left.

Watch the video: 2060 and the world population pyramid. The Economist (May 2024).