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Demographers of the late 20th century routinely projected mean family size stabilizing at ~ 2.1 children per family by ~ 2060-2080, with world population stabilizing at 10-11 billion by 2100-2120.
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This isn’t happening. Mean family size continues to decline below 2.1 children per family, regardless of economic status, nationality, race, ethnicity, religion or public policy.
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So long as mean family size is less than 2.1 children, world population will decline. In that case projections show world population declining to 2.5-3.0 billion by 2200, and lower still after that.
Beginning in the mid-1960s women, and men, mostly in the developed West, began desiring and having smaller families. During the 1980s women, and men, in most of the developing world also began desiring and having smaller families. Today, on average and world-wide, smaller families are desired regardless of economic status, education, culture, nationality, race, ethnicity, or religion. World population is projected to peak at ~ 8.5 billion in the mid-2070s. If family size does not at some point begin to increase, world population will decline to perhaps 7.4 b by 2100, 2.7 b by 2200 and 1.0 b by 2300. After that, if low family sizes remain, human extinction is an arithmetic inevitability. Some profess to welcome the extinction of the human species. Others welcome population decline to some preferred level, say, 3 to 6 billion, after which they call for family size to rise to 2.1 children per family and to stabilize there indefinitely. Many believe that a return to a mean family size of 2.1 children is compatible with liberal democracy and freedom of reproductive choice. Others believe that only a profound revolution in personal and social values, in which women, and men, are socialized and motivated to desire, have and nurture families with two or three children, will make this possible.
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For more see the Working Paper Narrative Outline Sections II and III, and Attachments B.5-A, B.5-B and B.5-C.