"In countries throughout the world - both modern and less developed -- birthrates and fertility rates are now falling at an astonishing rates. Depopulation is already proceeding in Italy, Germany, and Spain; Russia is losing a million people each year; Japan will begin losing population within a few years. Among the modern nations, only the United States is an exception to the trend. " "In Fewer, Ben J. Wattenberg brings his expertise in world and domestic demographics to bear on this momentous but largely unrecognized shift, analyzing its major implications for geopolitics, the environment, the world economy, and the health of regions and nations. The United States, for example, may find itself with weaker allies who have ever-greater proportions of Muslim voters. Europe may not be able to maintain its economic strength without vast numbers of immigrant workers - workers they have resisted allowing into their countries. " "What Mr. Wattenberg has to say about the impact of declining world population will underline its profound impact on the lives of people everywhere - from the dominance of the elderly and their demands on the resources of their governments, to the enormous potential of China and India, to the relatively privileged position of the United States vis-a-vis the major world powers. In an age already beset by a transformation in world politics, Fewer will help explain current trends as well as sketch the shape of our future. "--BOOK JACKET