From the authors of the bestselling The Big Shift, a provocative argument that the global population will soon begin to decline, dramatically reshaping the social, political, and economic landscape.

For half a century, statisticians, pundits, and politicians have warned that a burgeoning population will soon overwhelm the earth's resources. But a growing number of experts are sounding a different alarm. Rather than continuing to increase exponentially, they argue, the global population is headed for a steep decline-and in many countries, that decline has already begun.

In Empty Planet, international social researcher Darrell Bricker and award-winning journalist John Ibbitson find that a smaller global population will bring with it many benefits: Fewer workers will command higher wages, the environment will improve, the risk of famine will wane, and falling birthrates in the developing world will bring greater affluence and autonomy for women. But enormous disruption lies ahead, too. The United States and Canada are well positioned to successfully navigate these coming demographic shifts-unless growing isolationism leads us to close ourselves off just as openness becomes more critical to our survival than ever.

Rigorously researched and deeply compelling, Empty Planet offers a vision of the future that we can no longer prevent-but one that we can shape, if we choose.

DARRELL BRICKER is chief executive officer of Ipsos Public Affairs, the world's leading social and opinion research firm. Prior to joining Ipsos, Bricker was director of public opinion research in the office of the prime minister of Canada. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Carleton University. He is the co-author, with John Ibbitson, of Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline and The Big Shift: The Seismic Change In Canadian Politics, Business, and Culture and What It Means for Our Future.

JOHN IBBITSON is one of Canada's best known and most respected journalists and authors. He worked at the Globe and Mail-as Washington bureau chief, Ottawa bureau chief, chief political writer and, since 2015, writer-at-large-since 1999, and retired at the end of 2024. He co-authored Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline and The Big Shift, both with Darrell Bricker. He is also the author of Stephen Harper, the bestselling and award-winning biography of Canada's 22nd prime minister and, most recently, The Duel, about John Diefenbaker and Lester B. Pearson. His writing for fiction includes The Landing, which won the 2008 Governor General's Award for Children's Literature.