'Population collapse': Elon Musk reacts to South Korea's declining birth rates; internet gives him reasons for dip
Tesla CEO and tech billionaire Elon Musk has often expressed his concerns about low population growth rates and recently reacted to South Korea's declining population rate. See the post and how netizens reacted to this..
South Korea has now officially entered the category of a 'super-aged' society, with one-fifth of the population being individuals aged 65 years, as per the government data released on December 24, 2024. Following this, a post on X (formerly called Twitter), saying there are more living in the age bracket 84 years than 1-year-olds in South Korea currently, this post elicited a reaction from the tech billionaire, Elon Musk.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the owner of SpaceX, has often expressed his concerns about the population collapse and low population growth rates. Apart from South Korea, Musk also shared a post about the large population decline expected in China and India.
¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2025
Elon Musk believes a population crisis is real
Back in 2023, the billionaire shared a post on X, showing concerns that the 'population crisis is real.' One of his posts read, "Population collapse due to low birth rates is a bigger danger to civilization than global warming.
According to the post, the United States and Japan have noticed a decrease in population, while China, South Korea, and Singapore saw a major drop in fertility rates.
¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 21, 2023
The population collapse is one of the most significant threats to civilization. Musk has time and again urged the world that our society must raise our birth rate to combat ageing populations.
The government data of South Korea reported that 10.24 million people in the country are now aged 65 or above. This represents around 20 per cent of South Korea's total population of 51 million.
This is how great civilizations throughout history have ended.
¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2025
People assume it was due to conquest, but it was actually often simply too much prosperity leading to low birth rate and population collapse, which ultimately enabled them to be conquered. https://t.co/ncrHlx7lPG
Netizens on the internet give Elon Musk a reason for dip
Elon Musk, as usual, shared the population post of South Korea, which indicated that the population of individuals 84 years old is more in South Korea as compared to 1-year-olds. Musk shared this post with a two-word caption saying ¡®population collapse.¡¯
Population collapse https://t.co/58jaHdj7go
¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2025
As soon as the post was shared by the Tesla CEO, netizens started sharing their perspective about the reason behind the dip in population. Where one user wrote, that the data is both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. While another user expressed that this happens when one puts work before family.
On the other hand, some users shared numbers to explain the reason, as one wrote, to maintain a balanced population, the fertility rate is 2.9 per woman and man. It is not as simple as having more children; economically, people are facing a more difficult time now to survive than they did in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. "Make it so only 1 member of the household has to work, and the population will boom again," one wrote.
This Data is both beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
¡ª Ted Bullpit (@TedBullpit79515) January 7, 2025
The reason why developed countries are noticing population collapse is mainly because of the decline of traditional values like religion and nationalism.
It¡¯s not as simple as having more kids. Economically people have a much harder time now to survive than they did in the 50¡¯s 60¡¯s and 70¡¯s. Make it so only 1 member of the household has to work and the population will boom again
¡ª Moonlit (@BrilliantMarine) January 7, 2025
People today only see themselves as individuals, not as part of something larger than themselves, another comment read.
What do you think, why is the population of South Korea seeing a decline? Let us know in the comment section below.
Sneha is a dedicated writer with a passion for storytelling that enthrals and inspires the readers. With a background in Health and Wellness, she brings a unique perspective to every narrative. As a journalist, she aims to find solutions with authenticity and credibility.
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