Choosing to be child-free in an ‘apocalyptic’ South Asia

Why are some South Asians choosing not to have children amid a population crisis?

Zuha Siddiqui is currently designing her new house in Karachi, creating a blueprint for her future life in Pakistan’s largest metropolis.

Her parents will live in the downstairs portion of this house, “because they’re growing old, and they don’t want to climb stairs”, she says.

She will live in a separate portion upstairs, with furniture she likes. Siddiqui feels this is important because she recently celebrated her 30th birthday and wants a place she can finally call her own, she tells Al Jazeera over a phone call.

Siddiqui has worked as a journalist reporting on topics including technology, climate change and labour in South Asia for the past five years. She now works remotely, freelancing for local and international publications.

Despite all her plans for a family home of her own, Zuha is one of a growing number of young people in South Asia for whom the future does not involve having children.

A demographic challenge is looming over South Asia. As is the case in much of the rest of the world, birth rates are on the decline.

While a declining birth rate has been mostly associated with the West and Far East Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, countries in South Asia where birth rates have generally remained high are finally showing signs of following the same path.

Generally, to replace and maintain current populations, a birth rate of 2.1 children per woman is required, Ayo Wahlberg, a professor in the anthropology department at the University of Copenhagen, told Al Jazeera.

According to a 2024 US Central Intelligence Agency publication comparing fertility rates around the world, in India, the 1950 birth rate of 6.2 has