Why Demographers Studying Current Birth Rates Are Losing It

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·5 hours ago

원본 (Korean)

Translation + Context

FT = ForbiddenTome — tap to see Korean slang explained

Korea is no longer recording the world's lowest birth rate! F*** off, Taiwan. Rate this translation: 17

9:29 AM May 10, 2026 - 871K views

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What could be the reason why the fertility rate decline in Latin America is faster than in East Asia?

Source: Respective National Statistical Offices and Ministries of Health (e.g., INE Chile, INDEC Argentina, MSP Uruguay) Japan's fertility rate this year is expected to be around 1.1, while China and South Korea are both projected to be around 0.9. Meanwhile, Chile's fertility rate has already fallen below 1.0, and Colombia, Argentina, and Uruguay are expected to follow suit. Most of Latin America's fertility rates currently fall short of the population replacement rate of 2.1, and even Brazil, which traditionally saw notable population growth, now has a fertility rate of around 1.5, similar to many developed countries. East Asia's low fertility rates are commonly attributed to factors such as manufacturing-focused labor culture and an extremely competitive education system. However, in Latin America, which has a completely different culture, fertility rates are declining much more rapidly. Considering that East Asia is largely non-religious while Latin America is still a Christian-centered society, and Christianity is believed to have a positive influence on fertility rates, it's surprising that Latin America's fertility rate is declining faster.

Henry Mance Interview Demographics and Population

+ Add to myFT Birth rates are declining in Northern Europe. Are family-friendly policies no longer enough? Finnish demographer Anna Rotkirch assesses what young people think about having children and suggests that we need to reconsider this socially.

Developed / developing nations—doesn't matter

Catholic / Christian / Islamic / Confucian—doesn't matter

Even the Nordic welfare states hailed as models for population recovery

are hitting record lows in birth rates

Low birth rates are no longer just a crisis for East Asian nations like Korea

It's now expanded into a full humanity-wide crisis, they're lamenting

8 comments

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Lmao we were just trendsetters, the actual trend is no more babies 💀💀💀

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Why do they keep denying the obvious reason? People are realizing that the entire process from marriage to having kids is exhausting, and that there's no obligation to do it anymore. That's literally it

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The 90s generation was the last baby boom boom, so there was that bounce, but the housing crisis—which created the world's lowest birth rate—is still ongoing, so we're about to plummet again

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As social media develops, people compare themselves more, and it creates this intense navel-gazing of "let me just focus on my own life." That's why. Central Africa regions still have the world's highest birth rates and hold steady. Why? Because SNS culture hasn't taken root there yet

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At this point it seems like an economic problem

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okay but why is nobody talking about how different this is across countries?? Europe's numbers are wild compared to Asia and Africa

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It's just natural that the higher IQ gets + the easier communication becomes, the more likely people are to make choices that go against their biological instincts

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lmao not demographers having a full meltdown over spreadsheets 😭 honestly can't blame them tho the numbers are absolutely insane

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This is actually terrifying when you think about it... my parents keep asking when I'm having kids but like have they SEEN the economy lately??

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