From the Dept. of Demographics

From Wikipedia:

"The United Nations projects that world population will stabilize in 2075 at nine billion due to the demographic transition. Birth rates are now falling in most developing nations and the population would decrease in several developed nations if there was no immigration"

Click on "demographic transition" above for an absorbing discussion of the four stages of population growth and decline. The factors behind large numbers of children in poor populations and low fertility in rich/postindustrialized ones are interesting. Of course, like all predictions the proof that global population will stabilize remains to be seen. But it makes it clear that there are consequences to every action: If women gain socioeconomic value by work and education, motherhood declines and so does the value of working with children. An equation I hadn't thought of...