Population is ageing and fertility is declining around the world. Michael Herrmann, an economist and demographer with UNFPA, cautions against panic. He promotes the concept of demographic resilience to help societies anticipate population change and adapt their institutions. He also argues that ageing population does not mean economic decline.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published its most recent estimates of live births in the U.S. It showed that birth rates continue to decline nationwide and teen birth rates specifically are at record lows. This will fuel the pronatalist movementās concern that fewer people are getting married and having children. A senior medical analyst for Fox News described low teen birth rate as āthe problemā driving overall fertility declines.
L.A. Unified School District is seeing the steepest decline in enrollment in California. The district has about 7% of the stateās public school students. Hawaii, New Hampshire and New York have a larger percentage decline. Los Angeles County public school enrollment for the 2025-26 academic year decreased by 32,953 students.
Sri Lanka's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is 1.3, according to the latest census. This is lower than that of non-Hispanic whites in the United States. Demographers predict that low fertility numbers will be the norm as the world goes through the Second Demographic Transition. Births in Sri Lanka have collapsed following the 2022 economic crisis. There were only 220,761 live births in 2024.
Pew Research Center found that 320,000 of the 3.6 million babies born in the U.S. in 2023 would not qualify for birthright citizenship if President Donald Trumpās executive order is upheld by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the matter in late June or early July.
Almost 100,000 immigrants without legal status left California's Medi-Cal in the last 12 months. This is a reversal in a steady rise in enrollment among immigrants without immigration status in California. The federal government passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and executive orders added more changes.
California has added 677,000 new homes over the past six years, but the number of residents has barely grown, growing by just 39,000 people. The stateās rental vacancy rate sits at 4.3%, compared to 5.9% nationwide, meaning available units are quickly snapped up and pricing power is firmly in the hands of landlords.
There is an extreme decline in marriage and the corresponding decline in babies in our society. P.D. James' novel Children of Men is set in the year 2021 and describes a society where there are no more babies because all men have become infertile. It is similar to what we have observed around us of late, dogs in baby prams and "doll moms" on YouTube.
Right-wingers blame "girlboss" feminism for falling birth rates in the U.S. Katie Miller, a podcast host and wife of Trump staffer Stephen Miller, warned her followers that America is in full-scale decline. Inez Stepman of the Independent Womenās Forum argued that the rise of professional women is the result of taxpayer subsidies and policies that discriminate against men.
The Front Page is your daily window into the world of The Free Press. Today's Front Page includes stories about the girlboss, the falling birth rate in America, Israel-Lebanon conflict and antisemitism in the UK. It's a dark time for Britain's Jews, but they're not going to move to Israel.