A different take on world population trends and their implications
It is almost a cliché today to speak about global overpopulation and its implications for humanity and our planet. The United Nations predicts that the world population will grow from seven billion to eleven billion in this century then level off sometime after 2100. In Empty Planet Canadian authors John Ibbitson and Darrell Bricker challenge predictions such as these but instead think population will peak around the middle of this century and then begin to decline. The future they envision is a much more favorable one, although certainly not without its challenges. The environment will be healthier, and fewer people will lack adequate nutrition, but old people will constitute a larger portion of society, requiring services but not themselves any longer contributing to economy.
The authors cite a wealth of sources and provide copious footnotes. In addition to using various academic and government studies, they visited all the inhabited continents and explored social and demographic trends worldwide, from Japan to Kenya to Quebec to Australia. They liven their statistics with interesting glimpses of cultural practices. I was intrigued, for example, by the Kenyan dowry tradition whereby the groom’s family pays the bride’s family for the right to claim the bride. This use of the term “dowry” to refer to a payment from groom’s to bride’s family (rather than vice versa) was so unusual that I actually did some research to make sure it was correct. I should have trusted the authors more!
An aspect I found somewhat less satisfying was the authors’ anecdotal accounts of their visits to cities on six continents (Brussels, Seoul, Nairobi, Sao Paolo, Mumbai, Beijing, Palm Springs, Canberra, and Vienna). In each location the authors describe a social gathering organized by someone like a local academic where they met generally well-educated, upwardly mobile people to talk about their lives. For example, in Sao Paolo the women graduate students surprised the authors with their descriptions of the pressures they felt. These accounts were interesting, but each represents one very nonrandom data point, and it is hardly valid to generalize or consider them typical of the society.
A great deal of the book is devoted to immigration as a solution to the declining birth rate in developed countries, arguing that immigration is needed to beef up the economy, provide fodder for the workforce and sources of innovation, and keep the ratio of working people to non-productive retirees and children under control. This left rather unsettled the question of what the immigrants’ homeland can do to protect its own interest, but the authors did not claim to have perfect answers to all aspects of the challenge of population shifts, growth, and decline.
Empty Planet presents a more optimistic picture of our planet’s future than most of what I see today, which tends to emphasize “the global overpopulation crisis”. It is full of interesting data and insights and a colorful picture of world culture. Even if you do not accept all of the authors’ conclusions or agree completely with their projections, it is definitely worth your time, as it will give you a much better basis for making up your own mind.

A very important book a book that fits right into the discourse in politics about our population.The concept that our population could be declining with the changes in society an eye opener,Perfect for book club dinner party discussions,Higly recommend. #netgalley #EmptyPlanet# Crownbooks,

This book was an eye opener. I never thought about some of the ramifications that can/could/are happening with population stagnation and population decline.
The authors lay out their argument of depopulation of the Earth might be the best thing to happen. The more educated women are, less religion in the society, and other factors are driving the decrease of fertility rates.
I loved all of the facts, stats, and stories, especially the dinner parties around the world.
The future is not all doom and gloom and we should embrace immigrants.
I finished the book feeling hopeful for the future even when the present is full of turmoil.