The United Nations has announced that the world’s population will reach 8 billion by November 15 this year.
According to the UN, it has taken 12 years for the world population to grow from 7 billion to 8 billion. The world’s population will get to 9 billion by 2038, UN says in an official announcement on its website.
The United Nations has also projected that there will be a change in the list of worlds most populated countries as India will surpass China by 2023 and will become the world’s first largest population.
In 2021, India’s population was 1.39 billion while China’s population was 1.41 billion, while the World Population Prospect 2022 has projected that India will surpass China in 2023.
“This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres on World Population Day.
“At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another,” he added.
The United Nations data indicates that the global population growth rate has slowed down since 1950.
World Population Prospects 2022 also states that fertility has fallen markedly in recent decades for many countries. Today, two-thirds of the global population lives in a country or area where lifetime fertility is below 2.1 births per woman, roughly the level required for zero growth in the long run for a population with low mortality. The populations of 61 countries or areas are projected to decrease by 1 per cent or more between 2022 and 2050, owing to sustained low levels of fertility and, in some cases, elevated rates of emigration.
More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. Countries of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050.
The relationship between population growth and sustainable development is complex and multidimensional, said Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
Rapid population growth makes eradicating poverty, combatting hunger and malnutrition, and increasing the coverage of health and education systems more difficult, he added.
Conversely, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to health, education and gender equality, will contribute to reducing fertility levels and slowing global population growth, said Liu Zhenmin.
The following table shows the 2022 data for the world’s population from the highest to the lowest order where China is the most populated country with over 1.4 billion people, while Holy See is the world’s least populated nation with only 801 people.
