Bare Branches: The Security Implications of Asia\u2019s Surplus Male Population<\/em><\/a>, a 2005 book by my former BYU colleague (and sometimes fellow FairMormon speaker) Valerie M. Hudson and Andrea M. den Boer. \u00a0They worry\u00a0that a society in which hundreds of thousands of men simply cannot find wives or begin families is a society that may come to view them as dangerous, and to use them as cannon fodder.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
But back to the West:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The replacement rate \u2014 that is, the fertility rate per woman required to maintain a stable population \u2014 is approximately 2.1 children.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
As of 2014, the actual number was 2.01 in the United States, 1.90 in the United Kingdom, 1.61 in Russia, 1.59 in Canada, 1.48 in Spain, 1.43 in Germany, 1.42 in Italy, 1.41 in Greece, and 1.40 in Japan.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
By contrast, the number was 2.86 for Pakistan, 2.87 for Egypt, 3.16 for Jordan, 3.92 for the Sudan, 4.09 for Yemen, 5.25 for Nigeria, 5.43 for Afghanistan, and 6.08 for Somalia.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Weak to nonexistent economies, coupled with burgeoning and young populations, are a recipe for instability and even, perhaps, for foreign adventurism. \u00a0And very comfortable economies that pamper a dwindling population might well offer an irresistible temptation \u2014 or an infuriating target for\u00a0envy and hatred.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just a cheery thought for a Sabbath afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Earlier today, I posted an item about the decision by increasing numbers of women in the West not to have children. \u00a0 I feel that I can\u2019t leave that topic without a further comment, partly bibliographical: \u00a0 Demographic shrinkage of the West relative to, say, the Islamic world \u2014 and that shrinkage is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>