As bemusing as it is to imagine Boris Johnson scratching his head over Barbie, I was pleased to see him pick out the challenge to modernity nestled amongst the bubblegum pink hues: “[Barbieland] has children, but no babies. It is a parable about the destiny of humanity.”
Despite its birth rate sinking to a ten-year low, the population of Germany nevertheless climbed to 84.3 million people in 2022—more people than have ever lived in the country before—as net migration amounted to a record-setting 1.5 million people.
Italy’s birth rate continues to be among the lowest in Europe and while some pro-family policies have been enacted, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has promised more to come and reiterated her vow to push back against demographic decline.
For Meloni, the problem is not only financial but ideological. This observation is shared by Pope Francis, who also denounced “a culture that is unfriendly, if not an enemy, of the family.”
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