In April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report finding the fertility rate in the United States fell in 2023 to its lowest levels since it began tracking the data in 1979.

While the U.S. experienced a 1% boost in births during the pandemic, between 2020 and 2021, fertility rates have been on the decline for decades — with a consistent 2% decline each year from 2014 to 2020. 

The fertility rate — which measures the number of live births per child-bearing-age woman — in the U.S. was 1.62 in 2023. This is far below the 2.1 child per woman replacement rate needed in order to sustain the current population size of the U.S. 

It is predicted that 2064 will be the first year in centuries where more people will die than will be born. By 2100, 198 out of 204 countries are predicted to see a drop in their population size. 

It’s not just the U.S. seeing a decline in its birth rate. The Lancet found that in 2021, over half of all countries and territories were below the population replacement level of 2.1 births per female. 

With a shrinking population comes a smaller workforce that is crucial in sustaining the economy. Less people participating in the economy could lead to less innovation, stagnation and even recessions.

And while the birth rate declines; people are living to be older and older. The International Monetary Fund found that by 2050 a wealthy nation will be spending 21% of its GDP to meet the needs of its elderly population. 

“The implications are immense,” Natalia V Bhattacharjee, co-lead author of the Lancet study, told Al Jazeera. “These future trends in fertility rates and live births will completely reconfigure the global economy and the international balance of power and will necessitate reorganizing societies.” 

Nations promoting policies that will encourage its citizens to have more children is not a new concept. For instance, France became one of the first pro-natalist countries in 1939 when it passed the “Code de la famille” which included a variety of measures such as granting mothers cash incentives to stay home with their children, additional cash payments after having their third child, and a laundry list of other benefits.

The Institute for Family Studies found these policies likely have caused the fertility rate among French to be .1 to .3 more children per woman in the last century. Those policies have been attributed to the birth of several million people. 

While France possessed a fertility rate of 1.79 in 2023 — well above the European average of 1.5 – it still is failing to meet the replacement fertility rate. 

Researchers largely attribute this decline in fertility to the fact women are more focused on pursuing education and careers. In France, 81% of women are employed, and are delaying having children until they’re 30, with many deciding to not have children at all. 

Like France, Poland has adopted its own pro-natalist agenda in 2022 known as Demographic Strategy 2040. The plan intends to achieve a multitude of targets to strengthen and support the family unit and also remove barriers for people who want to have children. 

In China, the government created a college degree program in matrimony, which includes a curriculum centered around wedding planning, matchmaking services, and marriage. 

The country, which had a one-child policy in place from 1980-2016, is just now approaching a fertility rate of 1.0. At its current rate, the country is positioned to lose half of its population by the end of the century. 

Just last week, China floated the idea of making it easier for couples to get married with plans to no longer require couples to register at their household locations. The government is also attempting to make divorce more difficult by establishing a 30-day “cooling-off period” before divorce can proceed.

However, not all countries are focused on promoting pro-natalist policies as a solution to the looming crisis — some are looking to those on the other end of the spectrum.

Singapore announced its plans to raise the retirement age to 64 by 2026 and then to 65 by 2030. In addition, re-employment opportunities for older workers will increase to 69 by 2026 and 70 by 2030. 

The country is also heavily investing in providing the highest quality medical care to its population in order to ensure the country has “healthier cohorts who can continue to work,” according to Angelique Chan, the executive director of Singapore’s Centre for Ageing Research & Education.

“I think it is fundamental for the whole world to get over the idea that older people are entitled to an indefinitely long period of leisure at the end of their life,” Chan told BBC News. “People are healthier, vigorous, cognitively sharper, and ready to go on much older ages than used to be the case. I hope to see retirement ages rising well into the 70’s.”

However, in an effort for businesses to tap into the older generation to meet their needs, Ang Tze Phern, partner for the Employment Group at Rajah & Tann, told the Singapore Business Review this might be more costly in the long run.

“Raising the retirement and re-employment age can lead to higher business costs, medical costs, and the need for adjustments to workplace and hiring policies. Increased business costs may be incurred by employers who implement seniority-based wage practices,” Ang said.

Meanwhile, other countries, including Canada, have embraced an open immigration policy in an effort to combat its declining birth rates.

Foreign-born people make up a quarter of Canada’s population, and the government intends to welcome 500,000 immigrants each year by 2025. 

The ambitious goal comes as the country seeks to boost its workforce size as it faces an increasing aging population and a fertility rate of just 1.3. 

However, some Canadians have expressed concern about the economic strain that asylum-seekers and other refugees place on the system. For instance, the rapid growth in Canada’s population from immigrants has actually led to a rise in housing prices. 

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“Rapid increases put pressure on health care and affordable housing,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada found. “Settlement and resettlement service providers are expressing short-term strain due to labor market conditions, increased levels and the Afghanistan and Ukraine initiatives.”

This report mirrors issues found in major cities like New York and Chicago, which have found themselves on the hook in taking care of hundreds of thousands of migrants.