Does overpopulation represent a real threat to our planet? In short, was Thomas Robert Malthus right or wrong? The population trend of most industrialized countries, and of Italy in particular, contradicts the theory of the British scholar. In the Western world, as a matter of fact, fertility rate dropped, in some cases even below the replacement level – equal to 2.1 children per woman – which would allow the population of a country to breed without taking account of migration flows