underpopulation

Too few inhabitants

Underpopulation is the condition of having too few people relative to resources, economic needs, or social sustainability.

The term implies an optimal population exists and the current one falls short: Japan faces underpopulation as birth rates decline.

Unlike overpopulation, which dominates public discourse, underpopulation concerns typically arise in aging societies worried about labor shortages and economic stagnation.

migration

emigration

Leaving homeland permanently

diaspora · abandonment · resettlement · displacement

decline

shrinkage

Decrease in size

economic

underdevelopment

Inadequate economic or social progress

policy

pronatalism

Advocacy for higher birthrates

rural

hinterland

Remote area beyond settlements

Categories
Opposites
population density/quantity

underpopulationoverpopulation

Unsustainable density of inhabitants

overcrowding · population explosion · overcrowdedness · population boom · congestion

Family

population, populism, popularity, populate, populace, popularize, populated, popularly, populous

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Rated G