March 22, 2026

Over the past decade, global births have declined by approximately 8.6%. This structural shift is gradually weakening future labor supply and economic momentum.

TAIPEI, TAIWAN (MERXWIRE) – The global population structure is undergoing an unprecedented shift. According to the latest data from the United Nations’ World Population Prospects 2024, an estimated 1.5 billion babies were born worldwide between 2015 and 2025. However, after peaking in 2016, annual birth numbers have generally trended downward. Despite brief periods of recovery, births in 2025 are projected to remain approximately 8.6% below the peak.

Looking back at the past decade, 2016 marked the last peak of global fertility, with births reaching 144.85 million—the highest point during this period. Thereafter, the number of newborns worldwide began to decline year by year, dropping slightly to 143 million in 2017, falling below 140 million in 2018, and reaching just 138 million in 2019, indicating that global fertility momentum has entered a long-term slowdown.

 

Over the past decade, global births have plunged by 8.6%, dropping from a peak of 144.85 million in 2016 to around 132 million by 2025, signaling a sustained and hard-to-reverse fertility slowdown. This decline, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and compounded by economic pressures like inflation and high housing costs, reflects a worldwide trend where young people increasingly delay or forgo having children. The result is a shrinking future labor force and a significant challenge to global economic growth as the population base contracts steadily from historic highs.

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