In terms of fertility rates, Britain ranks 143rd.Here are the countries with the ten lowest fertility rates. The bottom six are all in East Asia. Collectively, they used to be known as the Asian Tigers. Judging by this table, it seems they were producing too many cars and electronics and not enough people.
Japan's fertility rate is shocking. It is just over one birth per woman. Perhaps, Japan is a vision of the future for Europe. During the 1980s, it had an massive asset bubble, which burst around 1989. Since then, it has suffered from 20 years of near zero growth, an ageing population and a massive build up of public debt. It is hard to see a way out from this demographic trap.
4 comments:
Japan? I never knew!
The UK not in the bottom ten? It depends how you do the sums.
The low fertility rate for Bosnia probably comes from the women not wanting to live in more poverty than they already have. And they look at the conflict and brutality that has occurred in their region and just resolve to stop bearing children.
Much can be said of Belarus and Lithuania now that austerity and conflict is coming to their countries.
The Apostles asked what will be the signs of the end of this age; and the Lord responded in Matthew 24:3-8: Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all[a]these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
I cannot recommend that a woman have a child with the tremendous griefs that are about to break forth.
I read in the newspaper about cut backs in social assistance for low income mothers here in Washington State and feel pain for the young women who will be bearing children without assistance from social progams.
But the UK's recent fertility increase is almost wholly driven by immigrants or their descendants, predominantly Muslim but also Eastern European.
Pakistan and Bangladesh have no shortage of people (neither, for that matter, does Burkina Faso) - but they're not economic powerhouses. And if fertility is such good news, why doesn't everyone want to live in Yemen?
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