[oco101]

Yes, but this is happening only because life expectancy is increasing and underdeveloped countries are experiencing population growth. 8 out of 10 countries that are expected to experience population growth are in Africa. So, most of the world will lose population. The main issue here is how to sustain the aging population, not so much how much the population will increase over time. If you have 60% of people over the age of 60, it is impossible for the rest to sustain it. Immigration for those that are accepting will help, but this is most likely not enough.

[vidarh]

Immigration will be enough for almost a century at current projections. We have a century to find ways of countering the decline, and any improvement in that respect will make it take even longer before a global decline sets in.

China, for example, is now encouraging three children. Whether that will work or not, we don't yet know. But we'll see increasing number of countries experimenting with encouraging, then likely rewarding, higher number of children. Even a modest reversal of fertility rates will prolong the time to global decline significantly.