Despite reaching 8 billion people, we must plan for population decline

There will be 8 billion of us by the end of the year. The world's population is growing fast, but in many countries the numbers are going down.

Take the large ones. China's population is expected to fall by the year 2200. India will peak in the middle of the next century. If not for immigration, the US population will fall in the next two decades.

There are two different issues to deal with, rapid population growth and population decline.

Many see limiting population growth as vital for tackling various environmental catastrophes unfolding around the world as we report on in our article "What will a population of 8 billion people mean for us and the planet." It's hypocritical for rich people to call for lower-income countries to control their population in order to protect nature, since they have a larger environmental footprint. There is more than a whiff of racism to such calls.

In our article "Tackling population growth is key to fighting climate change", we state that there are good reasons for fast-growing countries to try to limit further population growth. All countries should be doing everything they can to educate women and respect their rights in order to lower fertility rates.

Less pressure on wildlife, more space and other benefits can be seen as a result of a declining population. The economic challenge of having fewer working age people and more older people is huge.

Increasing immigration is one way to stem population decline. In many parts of the world, governments need to be prepared for the aging population.

There is no excuse for not preparing for these trends over the next few decades. Investing in health is very important. The impact of an aging population is less if people stay healthy.