173 Essays on Infinite Lifespans   Max More would be less than what we observed during the post World War II baby boom. [4] Low  fertility  means  that  population  trends  in  the  devel- oped regions of the world would look even milder if not for immigration. As the 2000 Revision to the UN Population Division’s  projections  says:  “The  more  developed  regions are expected to continue being net receivers of international migrants, with an average gain of about 2 million per year over the next 50 years. Without migration, the population of more developed regions as a whole would start declining in 2003 rather than in 2025, and by 2050 it would be 126 mil- lion less than the 1.18 billion projected under the assumption of continued migration.” All things considered, countries fortunate enough to develop and make available radical solutions to aging and death need not worry about becoming overpopulated. In an ideal sce- nario, life extension treatments would rapidly plunge in cost, making  them  affordable  well  beyond  the  richest  nations. We should therefore look beyond the developed nations and examine global population trends in case a significantly differ- ent picture emerges. GLOBAL POPULATION FLATLINING We have seen that we have no reason to hesitate in prolong- ing life even if population were to grow faster due to higher fertility rates. But does the developing world, with or without cheap, ubiquitous life extension, have much to fear from a population explosion? Are populations growing out of control in those regions? The fad for popular books foretelling doom started in the 1960’s, at the tail end of the most rapid increase in population in human history. Since then, the poorer coun- tries, well below us in the development cycle, have also been