[willcipriano]

It was 4.9 in the 50's. Projected to be 1.8 by 2100.

2.1 is considered to be replacement level.

The parts of the world that hold this number up don't produce people productive enough to support the social programs elderly people rely on in the west.

[birksherty]

That old 4.9 is THE problem not the new 2.1. The old generation popped more, now needing more new generation to care for them in elderly age. It's their own fault.

The kids should not have jobs of caring old generation lined up even before birth. My child is not going to born to take care for these olds.

[navane]

How long before we die out with a fertility rating of 1.0? 30 generations? That's a thousand years. Surely something will pop up in the mean time.