In 4 years, 2029, UK deaths will exceed births!

[TheMintCritic]

Just came across this and thought it was wild… according to the ONS, by 2029 the number of deaths in the UK is expected to outnumber the number of births for the first time in decades.

• Our fertility rate is only about 1.5 kids per woman, well below replacement.
• Meanwhile, the population is ageing — all those baby boomers are moving into their 70s and 80s.
• The result? The natural population growth turns negative, meaning any population increase will rely entirely on immigration.

It’s crazy to think that in just 4 years, births won’t even keep up with deaths. Makes you wonder what that’ll mean for schools, NHS, pensions, and housing.

@IllBeLookingAtTheMoon but younger generations are already paying for things they won't get.

Not eligible for the new free hours for mine, and I’m spending £4,000 a month currently.

A third is not very attractive as a result…!

Every word of this. Depressing, but true.

Lovely. So when there is no pension for you, no one to care for you in your home when you can’t do it yourself, no money to fund you care on the nhs when you are old then you’ll be fine with that then?

Because we have to reverse the trend before it gets untenable. More young people inevitably leads to more old people 60+ years later so unless we stop the pattern the problem just gets bigger.

Good job we've got a lot of people wanting to immigrate here then really isn't it!

I dunno. If people aren't having kids and are living on the bones of their arse due to COL then why is everywhere crowded as fuck with people paying wildly inflated prices for bog standard food, drink, transport and entertainment?

Because we have to reverse the trend before it gets untenable.

Reverse what trend @Badbadbunny?

More young people inevitably leads to more old people 60+ years later so unless we stop the pattern the problem just gets bigger.

Birth rates in the UK have been below replacement rate for years, they are already more over 65 yr olds than under 15 yr olds.

Good job we've got a lot of people wanting to immigrate here then really isn't it!

And why the Tories did nothing about immigration.

Yup. The youngest boomers are 61 this year. By 2045 we’ll nearly all be gone. So Gen X are next on the list to despise - all drawing their pensions and sitting on inherited wealth.

They aren't legalising assisted suicide. They are legalising assisted dying which is only for those terminally ill (i.e already dying) with fewer than 6 months left to live, so they get control over how and when and don't suffer more than they have to.

I hate the global "good" responses to this.

Even if the world is overpopulated, a slow and managed decrease over time should be the aim, if we want to avoid a collapse of the welfare state.

If you think that the state pension, disability benefits, socialized healthcare and public spending generally should all be axed, well then yeah, it is "good" I suppose.

But if you can find it in you to care about alleviating human suffering, particularly for your kids or grandkids, then sudden cliff-edge population collapses are an awful thing.

Yes, we have relied on immigration to keep ourselves afloat, but its unsustainable - almost all countries (including those who we tend to recieve immigrants from) are showing marked declines in birth rates.

And no, it isnt just about the current cost of living - birth rates have been declining for decades now.

We need to encourage people to choose to have larger families again and, while the cost of living is no doubt a factor, we likely need to actually incentivize people to have kids - be that through money, childcare of whatever else.

What we cannot allow, though, is for women's rights (to work, if they wish, and make healthcare and reproductive decisions), which I fear is the solution those further to the right are eyeing up.

Yep, we will have more than enough money to take care of ourselves without relying on a state pension, and if at any point I couldn't take care of myself, I would be off to dignitas. Care home sounds positively horrible.

Yes. That’s what most voters do.

People have to become old to die. If you want fewer people they do have to get old and die first, the former doesn't happen without the latter.

Yes. That’s what most voters do.

Hence why voters do have responsibility for the state of the country.

I missed a pretty crucial word in my last para - we can't allow for women's rights to be eroded.

@NoKidsSendDogs I wouldn't spend so much money keeping people alive though.

Yep, we will have more than enough money to take care of ourselves without relying on a state pension, and if at any point I couldn't take care of myself, I would be off to dignitas. Care home sounds positively horrible.

But you don't exist in a vacuum do you even with plenty of money. You still need doctors, pharmacists, drugs, etc.

? Sorry, not sure what this is in response to?

We’re already nearly at that point. The government are planning on changes re the state pension due to it no longer being sustainable, and the NHS is on its knees.

It's absolute bliss to be free

I don't understand why anyone wants kids

Good luck to them that do but it's def not for me

Euthanasia at the time we choose is the key

@TinyIsMyNewt I genuinely don't understand, are people just being contrary or are they really that stupid.

I'm not shocked tbh, it's very very expensive to live at the moment, add in childcare fees on top of that and it's easy to see one answer as to why this is happening.

You think doctors, pharmacists and drugs will somehow cease to exist in my lifetime?