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Original poster

AIBU The global fertility crisis is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced?

542 replies

plantsdieinmyhouse · 22/06/2025 17:14

We’re in a ‘global fertility crisis’.

I’m astounded that global (even UK/European) fertility decline to below the replacement rate of 2.1 (thought to have happened now) isn’t in the forefront of most people’s radar. There are barely even any politicians acknowledging it let alone devising policies to tackle it.

Thee are even people who still think we’re in the 70s/80s/90s and ‘overpopulation’ is still an issue.

Once everyone who’s alone now is dead the human race will be in terminal decline.

Nothing else matters if there’s none of us left!

Even on a personal level a large proportion of women don’t have the number of DCs they expect to.

https://www.thetimes.com/article/43a9bd63-25c9-4941-bc99-fc9f7e42c12a?shareToken=29bf27cb9dafe9af7a006bc25355e411

We’re in a ‘global fertility crisis’. Does this woman have a solution?

Countries across the world are fretting about falling birthrates. Now one academic believes she’s discovered the cause – and has a plan to address it

https://www.thetimes.com/article/43a9bd63-25c9-4941-bc99-fc9f7e42c12a?shareToken=29bf27cb9dafe9af7a006bc25355e411

OP posts:
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13
QuantumLevelActions · 22/06/2025 17:26

Agree.

Plus, there have been 5 mass extinction events over the last 440 million years, and many scientists believe that we are currently in the 6th.

The planet will he fine, and life will continue. Maybe just not with us.

Minieggmummy · 22/06/2025 17:26

I think the events that happened overnight might be more pressing to world leaders atm, op, and it might cause a different population crisis....

Riceball · 22/06/2025 17:25

I find it interesting that the people who go on about declining birth rate and women having more children are often the same ones who are anti immigration and talk of not enough space in this country, etc. Make your minds up.

TheyreLikeUsButRichAndThin · 22/06/2025 17:25

The hospitable world is getting smaller though so no need to worry, migration will see that our population is ok. The birth rate could do with lowering. I have 3 kids personally but most of my friends have 0 or 1. At a population level, it’s fine that it’s coming down.

smallglassbottle · 22/06/2025 17:25

I'd prefer other life forms to survive to be honest. The sheer amount of cruelty and pain and environmental damage caused by humans is staggering. Humans are willfully nasty and cruel.

DarkForces · 22/06/2025 17:25

So true @GoodbyeRosie . When I had dd things felt much more positive. But I remind myself my parents felt dreadful having us in the shadow of the Cold War. I really hope we find a way to turn things around and suspect less humans is part of the solution rather than a problem. Society will have to adapt to having less workers and that's a huge shift, but we've had huge shifts before and come out better for it

UndermyShoeJoe · 22/06/2025 17:23

We are currently over populated. We have more elderly than young in the uk I believe. You cannot always keep the young out numbering the old because you run out of room eventually.

Also cost of living is high. If you want people to have more children you need to make it worth while in the sense of people not paying thousands in childcare a year.

PotteringAlonggotkickedoutandhadtoreregister · 22/06/2025 17:22

I suspect it’s just the population naturally resetting itself to a sustainable level. We’re animals - it’s what happens in animal populations.

GoodbyeRosie · 22/06/2025 17:21

If you think logically, it's probably insane to bring another human into this world at the moment.

AlmostAJillSandwich · 22/06/2025 17:20

Nope, we're massively overpopulated and killing the earth, it's one of several reasons i'm childless, i couldn't bring a child into the world in the state it is in.

ladyofshertonabbas · 22/06/2025 17:19

This planet has finite resources, I welcome population decline. We will adjust- we have to and can.

VeterinaryCareAssistant · 22/06/2025 17:19

There are plenty of humans and if we eventually die out, so what?

QuantumLevelActions · 22/06/2025 17:19

I don't think it would be a bad thing if the human population declined massively or even died out completely.

It's the nature of life on planet Earth.

coolbreezes · 22/06/2025 17:18

We don't have enough resources for this population size. Hence all the wars over resources and crazy high house prices and fights over immigration

Just because a population drops doesn't mean it couldn't grow in size again later.

It's basic animal behaviour

DarkForces · 22/06/2025 17:17

Well I'm certainly not having another baby to save mankind. Dealing with dd's teen emotions has killed any remaining broodiness

henlake7 · 22/06/2025 17:17

Personally Im more worried about climate change.

JoshLymanSwagger · 22/06/2025 17:15

Gilead, anyone?

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