Consider the following countries:
- 1.Italy
- 2.Japan
- 3.Nigeria
- 4.South Korea
- 5.South Africa
Which of the above countries are frequently mentioned in the media for their low birth rates, or ageing population or declining population?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 4
Italy, Japan and South Korea are the standard examples, in NCERT, of countries where fertility has fallen so low that the population is ageing and beginning to shrink. Nigeria is the opposite case, a young and rapidly growing population, and South Africa, whose population is still growing by over 1% a year, is not one of these examples.
- ✓ 1. NCERT names Italy among the European and East Asian countries whose population is shrinking because fertility has dropped.
- ✓ 2. Japan is NCERT's example of an ageing society. It has raised its retirement age and uses automation to make up for labour shortages.
- ✗ 3. Nigeria has a wide-based, young age structure and a population that continues to grow rapidly, so it is not a low-birth-rate case.
- ✓ 4. South Korea is listed together with Italy and Japan as a country where very low fertility is making the population shrink.
- ✗ 5. South Africa is not among the shrinking or ageing countries NCERT names. Stats SA puts its 2025 population at 63.1 million and still growing at 1.23% a year, with about 2.2 children per woman, so it is not a shrinking-population case like Italy, Japan or South Korea.
Remember · Low fertility, ageing or shrinking population: Italy, Japan, South Korea (also China). Nigeria has a young, fast-growing population.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 6 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 6 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 6 “If fertility drops significantly, leading to even lower births, the population starts to shrink as seen in many European and East Asian countries like Italy, Japan and South Korea.”
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 6 “Countries like China, Japan, and Italy are already seeing shrinking populations while India's population is growing for now. At the same time, the population in several African nations such as Nigeria and Ethiopia continue to grow rapidly.”
- Statistics South Africa, Mid-year population estimates 2025 (P0302): fertility ↗ “Since 2008, overall fertility has declined from an average of 2,78 children per woman in 2008 to 2,21 children in 2025. … resulting in an annual growth rate of 1,23% by 2025, which is below pre-pandemic levels”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·