Musk Says Europe’s Future at Risk Without Birth Rate Recovery
(MENAFN) Tech mogul Elon Musk has issued a stark warning on Europe’s future, stating the continent could “die out” unless drastic action is taken to reverse plummeting birth rates.
In a post published Saturday on X, the platform he owns, Musk responded to new figures from Scotland indicating that deaths outpaced births by 34% in the first half of 2025. “Unless the birth rate at least gets back to replacement rate, Europe will die out,” he stated.
The replacement rate—the fertility level needed for a population to sustain itself—is typically set at 2.1 children per woman. This figure accounts for child mortality and an approximate balance between male and female births. However, emerging research suggests that a higher benchmark of around 2.7 may be necessary to ensure long-term population stability.
According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, England and Wales saw fertility levels fall to 1.4 in 2024, while Scotland recorded a lower rate of 1.3. Across the European Union, the trend mirrors this decline, with the average number of live births per woman dipping to a record low of 1.4 in 2023.
Musk, who has fathered at least 14 children and has invested millions in fertility initiatives, has consistently voiced concern over declining birth rates. Though often centered on Europe, his warnings have taken a global tone. “Civilization is going to crumble” if fertility continues to drop, he has said, arguing that demographic collapse “is a much bigger risk to civilization” than climate change.
Global fertility has been on a downward trajectory for decades. United Nations data shows the average number of births per woman dropped to 2.2 in 2024, compared to 5 in the 1970s and 3.3 by the 1990s. Only 45% of countries or territories reported fertility rates at or above 2.1 last year, with just 13%—mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Yemen—reporting rates of 4.0 or higher.
The crisis isn’t confined to Western nations. In Russia, where birthrates have also declined, Rosstat registered just 1.2 million births in 2024—the lowest since 1999—translating to a fertility rate of 1.4.
Musk has repeatedly positioned population decline as a critical global emergency. “Unless the birth rate at least gets back to replacement rate, Europe will die out,” he reiterated on X, amplifying concerns echoed by demographers and policymakers alike.
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