Are we running out of people?

Birth rates in the UK have fallen to their lowest level in decades. Deaths are starting to outnumber births. Some see a slow-burning crisis that threatens the economy and the welfare state. Others say this is not a crisis at all. That in a wealthy, high-consuming country, having fewer children might even be a good thing.

Anne McElvoy mediates debate between Paul Morland, a demographer who believes falling birth rates pose a serious risk and we need to act now, and Professor Sarah Harper from the Oxford Population Ageing Unit, who believes we will adapt to a changing world which will include smaller populations.

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson