{"id":10593,"date":"2019-08-23T10:00:17","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T15:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/g7-nations-stand-out-for-their-low-birth-rates-aging-populations\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:53:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:53:26","slug":"g7-nations-stand-out-for-their-low-birth-rates-aging-populations","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2019\/08\/23\/g7-nations-stand-out-for-their-low-birth-rates-aging-populations\/","title":{"rendered":"G7 nations stand out for their low birth rates, aging populations"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><a href='https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"181\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?w=300\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium not-transparent\" alt=\"Canadians more religious than French, British\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png 840w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=300,181 300w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=768,463 768w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=160,96 160w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=672,405 672w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=200,120 200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=260,157 260w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=310,187 310w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=420,253 420w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=640,386 640w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/06\/FT_19.06.26_canadaReligion_important420px.png?resize=740,446 740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" data-dominant-color=\"d7e7ee\" style=\"--dominant-color: #d7e7ee;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_319344\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-319344\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-319344\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/FT_19.08.20_G7Population_feature.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-319344\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Women shop for vegetables at a stand in Tokyo. The UN projects that the median age in Japan will be 53.8 years by 2100, the highest of any G7 nation. (Toru Yamanaka\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lower fertility rates and aging populations have become worldwide concerns, but the G7 nations \u2013 Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States \u2013 have stood out for their lower birth rates and graying of their citizens since the mid-20th century, when the United Nations <a href=\"https:\/\/population.un.org\/wpp\/\">first recorded this data<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-319342\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/FT_19.08.22_G7_G7-countries-fertility-rates-historically-lower-global-rates.png\" alt=\"G7 countries' fertility rates have been historically lower than global rates\" width=\"420\" height=\"479\"><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest gap occurred during 1970-1975, when the group of leading industrial nations was established. At that time, the global fertility rate was 4.47 projected lifetime births per woman, but 2.03 among G7 nations. The gap between global fertility rates and those of the G7 nations has closed dramatically since then, and the UN projects that the gap between global and G7 fertility will continue to narrow.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">France will preside over the\u00a0<a title=\"https:\/\/sdg.iisd.org\/events\/g7-leaders-summit-2019\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.elysee.fr\/en\/g7\">45th annual G7 summit<\/a> this weekend in Biarritz. The meeting will focus on improving access to health care and education and the promotion of gender equality, among other issues. Not on the agenda is the aging of the global population, which the UN has identified as one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/sections\/issues-depth\/ageing\/\">most significant social transformations<\/a> of the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><!--more-->Japan has an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eastwestcenter.org\/publications\/low-fertility-in-japan%E2%80%94no-end-in-sight\">especially long history of low fertility<\/a>, having experienced below-replacement fertility for decades. In 2018, the Japanese government reported the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2018\/12\/21\/national\/number-babies-born-japan-2018-lowest-since-records-began-population-decline-highest\/#.XVWs8ehKi73\">lowest number of babies born<\/a> since 1899, when this data was first collected. Italy recorded its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/world\/italy-demographics-1.5198341\">lowest total number of babies born<\/a> in 2018, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/data\/vsrr\/vsrr-007-508.pdf\">U.S. hit the lowest number of births in 32 years<\/a> after a continuous decline over many years.<\/p>\n\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-319343\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/FT_19.08.22_G7_Japan-Italy-projected-to-have-oldest-median-age-G7-nations-2100-US-Canada-youngest.png\" alt=\"Japan and Italy projected to have the oldest median age of G7 nations by 2100, U.S. and Canada the youngest\" width=\"640\" height=\"531\"><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to an overall decline in fertility rates throughout the 21st century, the UN projects an <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2019\/06\/17\/worlds-population-is-projected-to-nearly-stop-growing-by-the-end-of-the-century\/\">aging global population<\/a>. While the UN projects that the global median age will be 41.9 in 2100, G7 nations are projected to have a higher median age (48.5) than the global median.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japan and Italy especially stand out for their older populations. By 2025, the median age in Japan is projected to be slightly over 50 years old, while Italy is projected to hit that mark five years later, in 2030. The U.S. and Canada are projected to have the youngest median ages of all the G7 nations by 2100 \u2013 45.5 and 46.8, respectively \u2013 largely due to migration to these nations from the rest of the world. Despite this migration, both the U.S. and Canada will still have older populations than the global median.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some experts say aging populations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/blog\/up-front\/2016\/05\/02\/two-solutions-to-the-challenges-of-population-aging\/\">present challenges for national economies<\/a> and governments, while others argue an aging population <a href=\"https:\/\/theweek.com\/articles\/855139\/aging-population-actually-bad-economy\">isn\u2019t as problematic as we would expect<\/a>. An older demographic can create labor shortages \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/the-economist-explains\/2018\/11\/26\/the-challenges-of-japans-demography\">as is the case in Japan<\/a> \u2013 or burden a nation\u2019s pension system, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelocal.it\/20180627\/italy-declining-birthrate-population\">a dilemma which Italy is facing.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lower fertility rates and aging populations have become worldwide concerns, but the G7 nations have stood out for their lower birth rates and graying populations. 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