ipsnews | Today the global ratio for the world’s 7.4 billion people has been
halved to about three children per elderly person. While Africa’s
population continues to have the highest ratio with nearly 12 children
per elderly person, the ratios for Asia and Latin America are close to
the current world average. In contrast, the population of Europe, which
just recently experienced the Historical Reversal, has slightly less
than one child per elderly person.
By 2075 the world’s projected
population of 10.7 billion is expected to pass through the Historical
Reversal with elderly persons becoming increasingly more numerous than
children (Figure 1). The only major region that will not experience the
Historical Reversal during the 21st century is Africa, which is
projected to have 1.5 children per elderly person in 2100 with some
countries, such as Niger, Nigeria and Somalia, having more than twice as
many children as elderly. At that time, all the other major regions of
the world are expected to have about twice as many elderly persons as
children.
