Shrinking world

By 2050, most women will have fewer than two children and the world’s population will start to decline, according to the UN’s chief demographer, Joseph Chamie. He told population scientists in New York that he has abandoned the conventional wisdom that fertility rates—which have been falling in many countries since the 1960s—will stabilise at around two children per couple. Instead, Chamie expects even poor countries to follow the trend set by much of Europe and reach “below replacement” fertility levels by 2050.