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  • NEWS FEATURE

People are having fewer babies: Is it really the end of the world?

Steep population declines in most countries are expected to have negative impacts over the next several generations, but adaptation is possible.
By
  1. Lynne Peeples

    1. Lynne Peeples is a science journalist in Seattle, Washington.

An abandoned Japanese middle school classroom with empty desks located a few hours outside Tokyo.

An abandoned school in rural Japan bears witness to the country’s shrinking population. Credit: Lee Chapman

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In 1970, a woman in Mexico might have expected to have seven children, on average. By 2014, that figure had fallen to around two. As of 2023, it was just 1.6. That means that the population is no longer making enough babies to maintain itself.

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Nature 644, 594-596 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02615-6

References

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