Hyderabad: The World Population reached the mark of eight billion on November 15th 2022 at 01:29 PM (IST). World Population is referred to the total number of humans currently living. India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populated country in 2023, according to World Population Prospects 2022, released on World Population Day (July 11). According to United Nations (UN), the global population reached seven billion in 2011.
The global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 per cent in the year 2020. According to the United Nations, the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. It is projected to reach a peak of approximately 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100. The total number of births currently (2015-2020) is 140 million per year globally and is projected to peak during the period 2040-2045 at 141 million per year. The total number of deaths is currently 57 million per year and is projected to grow steadily up to 121 million per year.
World Population Prospects 2022 stated that fertility has fallen markedly in recent decades for many countries. Currently, only 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 one per cent or more between 2022 and 2050, owing to sustained low levels of fertility and, in some cases, increased rates of emigration.
According to the UN, the world population reached one billion for the first time in 1804 as a major change occurred in the world after the industrial revolution. It reached the two billion mark 123 years later in 1927, but only took 33 years to reach three billion in 1960. The number of elapsed years kept decreasing when it took only 14 years in 1974 to reach four billion, 13 years in 1987 to reach five billion, 12 years in 1999 to reach six billion, and 12 years in 2011 to reach seven billion.
It took only 11 years for the population to grow from seven to eight billion in 2022. More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will belong to 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 complex. 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”, he added.
