Population "explosion" not over for half the world.

Abstract

Recent articles in national publications argue that the rapid world population growth observed over the past 4 decades has ended and the real problem has now become low fertility. Some people have even warned that the world may soon experience an overall decline in population size. For support, these articles point to low fertility rates in western Europe and declining fertility rates in many developing countries. The true story, however, is more complex. While European countries, the US, Canada, Japan, and a few rapidly industrializing countries such as South Korea, Thailand, and China currently have replacement or below replacement levels of fertility, most of Africa, Asia, and Latin America have higher fertility rates, with women in those countries having an average of 4 children each. Human population in these latter regions comprises more than half of the world's total population. With their high levels of fertility, developing countries will determine future world population trends. Population age structures will also affect overall population growth.