As of this writing, the U.S. population stands at 318,463,083 people ... and counting. While all predictions indicate that the population will grow through 2050 -- along with aging and growing more diverse -- this assumes that nothing catastrophic will happen in the ensuing decades.
But what if we had a fertility crisis on a global scale? How would that affect our nation's population?
What if the next endangered species was us?
That's the scenario that Lifetime's brand-new series "The Lottery" brings to the forefront of the conversation. In the below graphic, we've used data from the U.S. Census and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to bring this hypothetical crisis from the provenance of science fiction into cold, hard reality.
Tune in on Sundays at 10/9c to see this dystopia come to life.
Please note that all extinction predictions are calculated from 2010 U.S. Census data and the 2010 CDC report on death rates by age. We have assumed that the birth rate decreases to zero in 2011 as death rates remain constant. External factors such as immigration and sudden changes in death rate have been excluded.
Don't forget to tune in for the series premiere of Lifetime's "The Lottery" tonight at 10/9c.