"Countries will disappear": Elon Musk sounds the alarm

American billionaire Elon Musk has stated that declining birth rates could lead to the disappearance of entire countries and cultures.

He commented on a post on his social network X, which claims that the total fertility rate in Italy is 1.0 children per woman, and in Japan it is 1.4. According to the author of the post, if this trend continues, each subsequent generation will be roughly half the size of the previous one.

"It means entire countries and cultures will go extinct forever," Musk wrote in a comment on the post.

It means entire countries and cultures will go extinct forever — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2026