Recent U.S. Census data found that Oregon’s population decreased in 2022 for the first time in 40 years. Last week, China announced that its population went down for the first time in 60 years. Then, this week, Japan’s prime minister said that his country, with its lowest birthrate in more than 120 years, is “on the brink of not being able to maintain social functions.”

Peter Walker, a professor of geography and environmental studies at the University of Oregon, joins us to talk about what’s driving global population trends, and why some regions are shrinking and others are still growing.