zero population growth

noun

1. the maintenance of a population at a constant level by limiting the number of live births to that needed to replace the existing population.

zero population growth

1. A condition in which a population neither grows nor declines, because the number of births in a year equals the number of deaths. Many industrialized countries have relatively low birth and death rates, and a steady but small population growth. Many Third World countries, however, have extremely high birth and death rates. Without effective methods of birth control , these populations grow at a phenomenal rate but without the resources to support them.

Word History and Origins

Origin of zero population growth¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Tanton began working with the group Zero Population Growth, which posited that stabilizing the number of people on the planet was the best way to save the environment, and became its national president.

From Salon

Calls for “zero population growth” surged on the left after the publication of the 1968 book “The Population Bomb” by environmentalist Paul Ehrlich, but the movement became associated with mass human rights abuses such as female infanticide after China adopted its “one-child policy” in 1979.

From Washington Times

Five years ago, the University of Washington Urban Freight Lab predicted a doubling of goods deliveries and truck trips in the city center by 2023 — even with zero population growth.

From Seattle Times

Sheryl — a practical and even-keeled teacher turned housewife — states plainly the influence of zero population growth theories and Paul and Anne Ehrlich’s 1968 book “The Population Bomb.”

From New York Times

“With my past partner, we both decided that if Trump got re-elected in 2020, we were not going to engage in having children, primarily because the climate would be irreparable and probably extremely devastating,” said Hannah Evans, 33, a senior analyst for Population Connection, formerly Zero Population Growth, the prominent population-stabilization organization that Dr. Ehrlich helped found in the 1960s.

From New York Times