How long it would take humans to go EXTINCT if we stopped having kids

Professor Michael Little , an anthropologist at Birmingham University , has revealed how long it would take for humanity to go extinct if we stopped having babies.

He says there would not be enough young people of working age to keep civilisation functioning.

Instead, the world's population would gradually shrink as the older generations die and fail to be replaced by the next generation.

The countries that would show the most rapid declines would be those with already ageing populations such as Japan and South Korea .

Meanwhile, countries with younger populations like Niger would remain well-populated for longer.

Trend is down to increased access to contraception, more women taking up jobs and changing attitudes towards having children.

Sex education classes began in the US in the 1970s and became compulsory in the UK in the 1990s .

More educated women may know more about prenatal care and child health.

As more women have entered the workplace, the age they are starting a family has been pushed back.

Experts warn that biological factors, such as falling sperm counts, could 'threaten human survival'.