population

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The World's Largest National Population Count Has Begun

India is estimated to now have 1.4B people, which final review of new census numbers will confirm

(Newser) - India has begun the world's largest national population count, which could reshape welfare programs and political representation across the country. The previous census in 2011 recorded a population of 1.21 billion. It's now estimated to be more than 1.4 billion, making India the most populous nation,...

US Population Growth Slows Amid Immigration Backlash

Especially hard hit: communities along Mexican border, hurricane-slammed Florida

(Newser) - Population growth rates in US metro areas dropped the steepest last year in communities along the border with Mexico due to declines in immigrants, while counties along Florida's Gulf Coast lost residents due to a series of hurricanes, according to population estimates released Thursday by the US Census Bureau....

In Ukraine, Soldiers Freeze Sperm for Free—Just in Case

State-funded fertility program aims to preserve future Ukrainian generations

(Newser) - Ukraine is fighting a war on two fronts: the one with Russia, and the one over its future population. The BBC reports on a state-backed effort that now pays for soldiers to freeze their sperm, a bid to protect both individual fertility and what one MP bluntly calls the country'...

Swiss to Vote on Far-Right Plan to Cap Population

Business leaders warn initiative could damage the economy and EU ties

(Newser) - Switzerland will soon decide whether there should be a hard ceiling on how many people can live there. Voters on June 14 will weigh a proposal from the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) to cap the permanent population at 10 million until 2050—a move critics warn could upend...

Study: Minority Births Outnumber White Births in US for First Time

Researchers analyzed 33M CDC-recorded births across racial groups

(Newser) - For the first time in US history, babies born to racial and ethnic minorities collectively outnumber those born to white parents, a new study cited by ABC 7 finds. Researchers at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell analyzed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention records on 33 million births...

Canada's Population Sees Rare Dip Over International Students

Numbers fell 0.2% in Q3 after Ottawa moved to tamp down on study permits for foreigners

(Newser) - Canada just experienced something it almost never does: Its population shrank. Statistics Canada says the country's head count slipped 0.2% in Q3, or about 76,000 people, to 41.6 million. The numbers haven't seen a dip like this since 2020, when COVID border rules froze movement,...

Ukraine's Birth Rate Hits Crisis Levels as War Drags On

Millions have fled, life expectancy has dropped, and deaths outpace births amid Russian invasion

(Newser) - Ukraine is facing a dramatic population crisis, with birth rates plummeting and millions fleeing the country amid the ongoing war. The hospital in small town Hoshcha has near-empty maternity ward that underscores the severity of the crisis, with just 139 births recorded so far this year—a sharp decline from...

World's New Biggest City Last Ranked 33rd
The World Has a New
Biggest City
in case you missed it
Nov 30, 2025 6:41 AM CST

The World Has a New Biggest City

Jakarta surpasses Tokyo

(Newser) - The world has a new most populous city. According to a new United Nations report , Jakarta has overtaken Tokyo, which previously held the top spot but is shrinking due to Japan's aging population. The Indonesian capital, which sat in 33rd place in the last ranking in 2018, now has...

One of World's Rarest Whales Gets a Bit of Good News

The North Atlantic right whale population is growing

(Newser) - One of the rarest whales on the planet has continued an encouraging trend of population growth in the wake of new efforts to protect the giant animals, according to scientists who study them. The North Atlantic right whale now numbers an estimated 384 animals, up eight whales from the previous...

Want to Live in an Italian Village? Here's Your Chance

Up to $23K in cash is offered to move into empty homes in shrinking Tuscan town of Radicondoli

(Newser) - Dreaming of swapping your daily grind for rolling Tuscan hills and stone-walled serenity? Radicondoli, a postcard-worthy village near Siena that's hemorrhaged residents for decades, is sweetening the deal: up to $23,000 to anyone willing to buy (and live in) one of its 100 empty homes, as long...

'Trial Living' in German City Comes With a Nice Price Tag

Program in eastern Germany's Eisenhuettenstadt hopes to lure skilled workers with rent-free living

(Newser) - Eisenhuettenstadt, a town in eastern Germany once envisioned as a socialist ideal, is now serving as a real-world laboratory in the country's effort to reverse decades of population decline. Once called Stalinstadt and built around a steelworks, the town's population has shrunk by more than half since...

Latest Gallup Poll: 2+ Kids Is a Good Family Size

The average number is 2.7—though that's down from 3.6 in the mid-1930s

(Newser) - What's the optimal family size? In the US, the consensus seems to be families with an average of 2.7 kids, according to a Gallup survey last month, which asked Americans what their ideal number of children would be.
  • More than 80% of respondents say at least two is
...

As Birth Rate Continues Slide, China Opens Up Its Wallet

New policy offers up to $1.5K per child under 3

(Newser) - China is rolling out its first nationwide child subsidy, offering parents about $500 a year for each child under age 3 in a move to address its declining birth rate. The new policy, which the BBC reports was announced Monday, is expected to support around 20 million families. Parents...

There's a 'Very Clear Problem' With Assisted Suicide

Writing for NYT , Louise Perry fears medically assisted dying may lead to coercion of vulnerable

(Newser) - Medically assisted dying can seem the "logical" and "compassionate" route when a terminally ill patient seems to have nothing but pain and suffering in their future, concedes journalist Louise Perry. But Perry, whose native UK recently saw its lawmakers greenlight plans to legalize assisted suicide, notes in her...

An 'Absolutely Alarming' Find on Emperor Penguins

Population in one section of Antarctica is falling faster than previously thought, per satellite images

(Newser) - The population of emperor penguins in one part of Antarctica appears to be declining faster than previously thought, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery released Tuesday. The estimated population of 16 penguin colonies—visible in satellite photos taken between 2009 and 2024—had declined 22% during that period,...

Don't Fall for This 'Fertility Fallacy'

Low birth rates globally aren't due to lack of desire, per UN report—it's the lack of access, cost

(Newser) - A new United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report challenges the usual question about declining birth rates, suggesting the real issue isn't that people don't want more kids—it's that many feel they can't have them. The report, which includes polling from 14 countries, found that...

Free: A Small Business on a Remote Scottish Island

Anyone willing to relocate can have a crack at fish-smoking on an island of 125 souls

(Newser) - If you've ever dreamed of a quieter life on a remote island, Richard Irvine has a proposition: He's giving away his fish smoking business, the Colonsay Smokery, to the right candidate—no money required. The only catch? You'll have to move to Colonsay, a windswept Scottish...

Vermont May Have a Population Problem

Uptick during the pandemic has petered out

(Newser) - For a while there, it looked like the shift toward remote work during the pandemic might have fixed Vermont's problem of stagnant population numbers. But as the Wall Street Journal reports, the trend has petered out:
  • Pandemic bump: The state saw about 4,900 people move there in the
...

'iPad Kids,' Make Way for the AI Kids
'Generation Beta' Has Arrived
Jan 4, 2025 6:30 AM CST

'Generation Beta' Has Arrived

Following Alpha, this newest demographic covers kids born from 2025 through 2039

(Newser) - It may seem odd that we started naming generations so late in the alphabet—ie, Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z—but at any rate, we've already circled back to the beginning with Generation Alpha, the current cohort of kids born between 2010 and 2024. Now, the next generation...

Russia Outlawing 'Child-Free Propaganda'

Putin wants women to have more children

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin wants the women of Russia to have more children, and the government took a big step toward making that wish formal on Tuesday. The nation's lower house of parliament approved a law that would ban "child-free propaganda," meaning anything that might promote the idea that...

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