Recently there was a splash in the news about the US death rate projected to exceed the birth rate by 2031.

Many of the largest countries are experiencing similar declines, with fewer and fewer countries maintaining large birth rates.

I don't see developed countries to have a "rapidly increasing population" problem.

Practically the whole planet is experiencing population decline now. The poster you're replying to is basing his argument on an obsolete worldview.

Yeah, it felt like we went from 7B to 8B really quickly, but I guess it's over now.

This isn't accurate. Birth rates are declining but population is still increasing in most countries.

Birth rates are of course the only thing which matters. If your car runs out of gas, it will still roll for a small stretch, but it is irrelevant.

I don't know what you're saying.

>Practically the whole planet is experiencing population decline now.

That's objectively false.

It's easy to understand, how can you not understand? Any population increase is just a very short and temporary happening when births are below replacement level. Which they are in almost every country on the globe, with a few exceptions.

Yeah sure, but populations are increasing TODAY as in NOW and will happen for multiple decades for most countries.

Your statement about populations declining is just untrue.

> in a world with rapidly increasing population

That world was 30 years ago. In 2025 world average total fertility rate is 2.2, which is a shade above replacement rate (2.1). And 2.2 is a 10% drop since 2017 alone (when it was 2.46).

Because life expectancy is higher, the population will continue to increase. But not "rapidly".

According to some cutting edge research[1], we are already bellow replacement rate worldwide.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7_e_A_vFnk

Depends what kind of people you need. For innovation you generally need exceptional people, and the probability of finding such a person is proportional to the total number of people available.