NEW DELHI: November 15, 2022 will be historic as it saw global population reaching 8 billion mark, with prediction being made that India may surpass China during 2023 as the world’s most populous country. The United Nations’ latest report titled ‘UN World Population Prospect 2022”, released on November 14 coinciding with the World Population Day, has made various projections about the population of the world. It has gone with further projections on population stating that the global population could grow to around 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050 and 10.4 billion by 2100.
The report also claims that China and India with more than 1.4 billion each, accounted for larger parts of the global population in 2022. It also says India will have a population of 1.66 billions in 2050, going ahead of China’s 1.37 billion around that time. The report further projected that India will surpass China by 2023 as the world’s most populous country while 8 countries, namely India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, Pakistan and the Philippines will have more than half of the projected increase in global population by 2050.
The report has further stated that 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, elevated rates of emigration. But world’s46 least developed countries are among the world’s fastest growing.
On projections made about India, the Population Foundation of India (PFI) said the milestone should not be seen as a problem but as an opportunity for India to plan better and provide a healthy and happy life for people across the world. “We must celebrate the day the world population reaches eight billion,” it had earlier said.
According to the United Nations’ World Population Prospects-2022, released on July 11 (World Population Day), the global population was projected to reach eight billion on November 15. The report also stated that the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under one per cent in 2020.
“Given the fact that India is projected to become the most populous country in the world in 2023, some sections have been expressing fear that a high population would be a problem for governance. “However, this milestone should be seen as an opportunity to plan better and provide a healthy and happy life for all eight billion of us,” the PFI said.
PFI executive director Poonam Muttreja said, “We know that population growth is stabilising across the world. While it took 12 years for the world population to grow from seven to eight billion, it will take approximately 15 years, until 2037, to reach nine billion, suggesting that population growth is slowing down.”
Billions of men & women
Owing to advancements in health services, world population has increased exponentially in recent years, clocking 8 billion mark on Tuesday. Here is a look at key features of this growth
8 billion people milestone has long-term significance for both rich and poor countries
India projected to become the world’s most populous country by 2023, surpassing China
World population could grow to around 8.5 bn in 2030.
World population to reach 9.7 bn in 2050
World population to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion during 2080s and continue until 2100
The global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950 with under 1% growth in 2020
It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world’s population to reach 1 billion
The world grew from 7 billion to 8 billion just since 2010, reflecting advancements in health
Another key point in the UN’s population report, updated in its November brief, is the gender divide: Today there are just slightly more men than women, but it will even out by 2050.