Birth rates are declining in most of the world, including Australia. Here’s why that really matters

Birth rates are declining in most of the world, including Australia. Here’s why that really matters

Birth rates have been declining worldwide since the peak of the post-second world war baby boom. Birth rates have now reached below replacement in most of the world, including Australia. Put simply, populations on average aren’t replacing themselves. Everyone from Elon Musk to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, to the pope have opinions on declining total fertility (or birth) rates – the average number of births per woman. Overpopulation has…