Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline

Apparently the population of the planet will start to recede very soon. As sexual education and contraception gains hold around the world, birth rates are dropping below the 2.1 required to stabilize the population.

This book is fundamentally about demographics, the changes that have brought us to this point, and what happens from there. While fewer people is undoubtedly good for the environment, it’s not so much for the economics of the world. Fewer people means less workers supporting each retiree, and less people to manage the current infrastructure we’ve put in the place.

This book is heavy on anecdotes and stories from around the world about how families are getting smaller. Some of it get repetitive. Later in the book, the others dig deep into immigration and its effects on countries, making the case that immigration is beneficial to countries, not detrimental.

An interesting book, but felt a bit padded.