Elon Musk Says Population Collapse Is a Problem, But Do Most People Agree?

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk has been sounding the alarm about population collapse on Twitter.

“Population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming,” Musk wrote on Twitter in 2022, adding “mark these words.”

The world’s richest person and father to 10 children, of which nine are living, believes pessimism about the future and a false narrative that the earth is overpopulated to be the main reasons people are choosing not to have children. He also agreed with one of his followers who wrote, “Most peers of mine who don’t have kids are hesitant or unwilling to make the lifestyle sacrifices necessary for being a good parent.”

In January, Musk warned, “If the alarming collapse in birth rate continues, civilization will indeed die with a whimper in adult diapers.”

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The Research: Research coming out from some Asian countries and Russia is showing a stark reduction in birth rates. Women in South Korea had an estimated average of 0.81 babies in 2021 compared to 0.84 the year previous and in Japan, adult diaper production is higher than infant diapers.

Russia’s population has been declining since 1993 and is expected to fall sharply over the coming years, with a birth rate of 1.58 per woman, one of the lowest in the world. In an effort to boost the population, President Vladimir Putin announced a reward of $1 million rubles ($16,000) in 2022 to any woman who gave birth to 10 babies, to be awarded after each of the children turned one.

In the U.S., the birth rate has been steadily declining since 1950 but appears to have hit a leveling-off period, ranging from between about 12 and 13 births per 1,000 people since 2012.

Reports indicate women are choosing to have fewer children due to fears of climate change, inequality and financial woes. With climate change primarily caused by people, it’s understandable how the decision of whether to have children or how many to have creates a conundrum.

To gauge how our readers feel about the issue, Benzinga posed the following question: Do you agree with Elon Musk that we’re facing a global population collapse?

Here are the full results from the survey:

• Yes, he’s right that global birthrates are too low: 45.3%
• No, he’s wrong, the problem is global overpopulation: 54.7%

This survey was conducted by Benzinga in August 2022 and included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older.

Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents.

The study reflects results from more than adults.

Originally published on Aug. 30, 2022.

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