“Nearly half of all people now live in countries where women, on average, give birth to fewer than 2.1 babies—the number generally required to replace both parents. This is news to many people, and also a source of alarm, even hysteria—mostly in the West. In reality, slower population growth creates enormous possibilities for human flourishing. Fertility decline is associated nearly everywhere with greater rights and opportunities for women. The deferral of marriage and the reduction of births to two, one, or none across so much of the world are broadly consistent with the higher educational attainment and career aspirations of young women. It is no surprise that the hand-wringers over fertility decline are usually men.”
Michael S. Teitelbaum and Jay M. Winter in The New York Times
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