World population to hit 8 billion this year

World population to hit 8 billion this year

The world population will hit 8 billion in 2022.

The latest United Nations project reveals that the global population ‘‘could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050, before reaching a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s.’’ It adds that ‘‘the population is expected to remain at that level until 2100, and the growth rate is the slowest since the 1950s.’’

“This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a statement released by the United Nations. 

However, the UN warns that global fertility has been slowing down necessitating prudent policy-making to maintain the balance across the demographics. 

‘‘Fertility, the report declares, 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 report states. 

However, the UN warns that countries with an elderly population must now work hard to ensure a higher growth rate. According to the UN, the elderly population would bring a lot of pension burdens to these countries. 

‘‘The report recommends that countries with ageing populations should take steps to adapt public programmes to the growing numbers of older persons, establishing universal health care and long-term care systems, and by improving the sustainability of social security and pension systems.’’

Factors such as low levels of fertility and high emigration will affect a total of 61 countries in the next 30 years. Besides this, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a decline in population growth. 

‘‘The COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect on population change: global life expectancy at birth fell to 71 years in 2021 (down from 72.9 in 2019) and, in some countries, successive waves of the pandemic may have produced short-term reductions in numbers of pregnancies and births,’’ the UN stated. 

Although the Worldometers.Info puts South Sudan population at 11 million, the country has lost a considerable number of people to emigration and civil wars.

UN Population project

2022- Global  population to clock 8 billion

2030- Global population to reach 8.5 billion

2050- Global population to reach 9.7 billion

2080- Global population to reach 10.4 billion

MORE FROM NATIONAL