7 countries at risk of becoming 'demographic time bombs'

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If you want to understand what happens when people stop having kids while life expectancy keeps rising, look no further than Japan.

The country's population is falling faster than ever before, and it's prompted economists to call the nation a "demographic time bomb" — defined as a place where fertility rates are falling at the same time that longevity is increasing.

Some experts have even created their own doomsday clock for when Japan will go extinct.

But Japan just happens to be the most extreme case of what's happening in a number of countries around the world. People are working longer hours, fertility rates are falling, and future economies are being put at risk.

Here are just some of the countries that could become demographic time bombs over the next 20 years.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the government is faced with a striking gender imbalance; women outnumber men at nearly every age bracket above 25.

The imbalance is mainly due to men seeking women up north, in mainland China, as the women there are sometimes viewed as less choosy than in Hong Kong, according to experts in gender studies. Each year, the city also brings in thousands of foreign domestic helpers (who are almost always female) from countries like Indonesia and the Philippines.

The two trends have coalesced into a tense climate for younger generations.

Singapore

Singapore has the lowest fertility rate in the world, at just 0.81 children per woman.

On August 9, 2012, the Singaporean government held National Night, an event sponsored by the breath-mint company Mentos, to encourage couples to "let their patriotism explode."

Like Japan, the country is also experiencing widespread aging. Without younger generations to replace them in the workforce, the economy could begin to shrink.

China

A fifth of the world's population lives in China. But with a fertility rate of 1.60 and a culture that is becoming more reclusive, men and women are increasingly choosing not to date, let alone get married and have kids.

There are entire industries devoted to livestream stars, with millions of viewers — men, primarily — who pay to watch people sing, dance, or just eat soup. Multiplied out, they have created a generation that often prefers alone time.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider