UK enters demographic turning point as births fall behind deaths
Independent - 05-Jan-2026Deaths may soon outpace births, pushing the UK into an ageing, higher-tax future
Population
In many countries, fertility rates are already dropping below that required to maintain a population, and without immigration the number of people living there would be falling.
Even with biological immortality, if people were limited to one child each, then there would be a finite maximum population to deal with. And biological immortality does not mean fictional immortality - people will still die in accidents, conflict or by choice, meaning the global population would eventually start falling again.
Read more about: Overpopulation.
Population News
Young generations face the true cost of Britain’s ageing population
BBC - 19-Dec-2025Lords warn poor planning today will force younger people to work longer and save earlier
The rise of the “one and done” family
BBC - 05-Dec-2025Modern pressures and fertility gaps shape the growing trend of single-child households
UK fertility rates fall to historic lows despite slight rise in births
The Guardian - 27-Aug-2025Record-low fertility raises concerns over ageing population and economic stability
Population Resources
Click on resource name for more details.
Oxford Institute of Population Ageing
Multi-disciplinary group with aim to undertake research into the implications of population change
Aging and Economic Growth in the Pacific Region
Book about aging in the Pacific Region edited by Akira Kohsaka
The Longevity Imperative
How to Build a Healthier and More Productive Society to Support Our Longer Lives, written by Andrew Scott
Stuart Gietel-Basten
Professor of Social Science and Public Policy at the University of Hong Kong, Demographer working on low fertility and population decline
Ageing Populations in Post-Industrial Democracies: Comparative Studies of Policies and Politics
Generational politics and public policies within an approach explicitly focusing on comparative political science edited by Pieter Vanhuysse
07-Jul-2015
Longevity and coping with an ever increasing population
Replace the defence budget with a space colonisation budget and everyone board can be shipped off planet
