Future Timeline

(IFL Science) If current trends continue, Christians could soon become a minority in the US within just a few decades, according to a new report. Social trends like this are notoriously hard to predict, but it's evident that the number of people following Christianity in the US has been slipping since the 1970s – and little seems to be stopping the demise.

In 1972, up to 90 percent of Americans identified as Christian. By 2020, that number had slipped to about 64 percent, while around 30 percent reported being religiously unaffiliated and all other religions – including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism – accounted for just 6 percent of the population.

A new report by Pew Research has looked to see how this trend might continue under a few different scenarios. There are numerous factors that will influence this future, such as birth rates and migration patterns, but one of the most important is the rates of “religious switching” whereby people no longer identify with the religion they grew up with.

Under the first scenario, where no one in the US changes their religion after 2020, Christianity could claw onto a majority of 54 percent of the population by 2070. Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated would remain a substantial minority at 34 percent.

If religious switching among young Americans continued at current rates, Christians would slip below 50 percent of the population by 2060, accounting for 46 percent of the population in 2070. They would still be the largest religious group in the US, however.

(Axios) Eight billion humans are living on planet Earth — a huge milestone officially projected for and being recognized Tuesday by the U.N.
Why it matters: People are living longer, with generally better access to health care, food, clean water and sanitation than in past generations. A smaller share of humans live in extreme poverty.

• There are still challenges — ongoing ramifications from the pandemic, a record number of forcibly displaced people and worsening climate change.

“It is a momentous milestone for humanity," Natalia Kanem, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), told reporters last month.

• "Some express concerns that our world is overpopulated with far too many people and insufficient resources to sustain their lives. I am here to say clearly, that the sheer number of human lives is not a cause for fear."

Updated 2:50 AM EST, Sat December 17, 2022

Taipei, Taiwan(CNN) Taiwan has noticed a hole in its defense plans that is steadily getting bigger. And it's not one easily plugged by boosting the budget or buying more weapons.

The island democracy of 23.5 million is facing an increasing challenge in recruiting enough young men to meet its military targets and its Interior Ministry has suggested the problem is -- at least in part -- due to its stubbornly low birth rate.

Taiwan's population fell for the first time in 2020, according to the ministry, which warned earlier this year that the 2022 military intake would be the lowest in a decade and that a continued drop in the youth population would pose a "huge challenge" for the future.

That's bad news at a time when Taiwan is trying to bolster its forces to deter any potential invasion by China, whose ruling Communist Party has been making increasingly belligerent noises about its determination to "reunify" with the self-governed island -- which it has never controlled -- by force if necessary.

And the outlook has darkened further with the release of a new report by Taiwan's National Development Council projecting that by 2035 the island can expect roughly 20,000 fewer births per year than the 153,820 it recorded in 2021. By 2035, Taiwan will also overtake South Korea as the jurisdiction with the world's lowest birth rate, the report added.

Time_Traveller wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:57 am Taiwan military has a fertility problem: As China fears grow, its recruitment pool shrinks

Updated 2:50 AM EST, Sat December 17, 2022

Taipei, Taiwan(CNN) Taiwan has noticed a hole in its defense plans that is steadily getting bigger. And it's not one easily plugged by boosting the budget or buying more weapons.

The island democracy of 23.5 million is facing an increasing challenge in recruiting enough young men to meet its military targets and its Interior Ministry has suggested the problem is -- at least in part -- due to its stubbornly low birth rate.

Taiwan's population fell for the first time in 2020, according to the ministry, which warned earlier this year that the 2022 military intake would be the lowest in a decade and that a continued drop in the youth population would pose a "huge challenge" for the future.

That's bad news at a time when Taiwan is trying to bolster its forces to deter any potential invasion by China, whose ruling Communist Party has been making increasingly belligerent noises about its determination to "reunify" with the self-governed island -- which it has never controlled -- by force if necessary.

And the outlook has darkened further with the release of a new report by Taiwan's National Development Council projecting that by 2035 the island can expect roughly 20,000 fewer births per year than the 153,820 it recorded in 2021. By 2035, Taiwan will also overtake South Korea as the jurisdiction with the world's lowest birth rate, the report added.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/16/asia ... index.html

ººº wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:26 pm

Time_Traveller wrote: ↑Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:57 am Taiwan military has a fertility problem: As China fears grow, its recruitment pool shrinks

Updated 2:50 AM EST, Sat December 17, 2022

Taipei, Taiwan(CNN) Taiwan has noticed a hole in its defense plans that is steadily getting bigger. And it's not one easily plugged by boosting the budget or buying more weapons.

The island democracy of 23.5 million is facing an increasing challenge in recruiting enough young men to meet its military targets and its Interior Ministry has suggested the problem is -- at least in part -- due to its stubbornly low birth rate.

Taiwan's population fell for the first time in 2020, according to the ministry, which warned earlier this year that the 2022 military intake would be the lowest in a decade and that a continued drop in the youth population would pose a "huge challenge" for the future.

That's bad news at a time when Taiwan is trying to bolster its forces to deter any potential invasion by China, whose ruling Communist Party has been making increasingly belligerent noises about its determination to "reunify" with the self-governed island -- which it has never controlled -- by force if necessary.

And the outlook has darkened further with the release of a new report by Taiwan's National Development Council projecting that by 2035 the island can expect roughly 20,000 fewer births per year than the 153,820 it recorded in 2021. By 2035, Taiwan will also overtake South Korea as the jurisdiction with the world's lowest birth rate, the report added.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/16/asia ... index.html

Isn't China population much larger than Taiwan?