World population reaches 8 billion in November, with India overtaking China as most populous OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations on Monday estimated that the world population will reach 8 billion by Nov. 15 and that India will replace China as the world’s most populous nation next year.
In a report released on World Population Day, the UN also said the global population growth rate will fall below 1% in 2020 for the first time since 1950.
According to the latest UN projections, the world population could grow to about 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and a peak of about 10.4 billion in the 2080s. It is expected to reach that level until 2100. will stay.
The report says that more than half of the projected population growth by 2050 will be concentrated in just eight countries: Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.
The “World Population Prospects 2022” report now estimates the world population at 7.942 billion and forecasts it to reach 8 billion by mid-November.
John Wilmoth, director of the UN’s population division, said at a news conference to release the report that the date when the UN’s projection line exceeds 8 billion is November 15.
But, he noted, “we’re not pretending that’s the actual date … and we think the uncertainty is at least plus or minus a year.”
According to the latest UN projections, the world population could grow to about 8.5 billion by 2030.
Nevertheless, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called 2022 a “milestone year”, with “the birth of the eight billionth inhabitant of the earth”.
“This is an opportunity to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity and admire advances in health that have extended longevity and dramatically reduced maternal and infant mortality,” Guterres said in a statement. “At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to take care of our planet and a moment to reflect on where we are still failing to meet our obligations to each other.”
The report predicts that India, with a current population of 1.412 billion, will surpass China next year, with a current population of 1.426 billion, but Wilmoth said there is more uncertainty about that date than Earth will have 8 billion inhabitants on Nov. 15. to achieve.
Wilmoth said the UN has pushed the date to 2027, mainly due to China’s 2020 census. India had planned its census in 2021, but said it had been delayed due to the pandemic. The UN will reassess its projection after it takes place.
The UN predicts that by 2050 the United States will remain the third most populous country in the world after India and China. Nigeria is expected to be number 4, followed by Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil, Congo, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. Russia and Mexico, which will be in the top 10 most populous countries in 2022, are expected to lose their ninth and tenth places by 2050.
“The population of 61 countries or territories is expected to decline by 1% or more between 2022 and 2050,” the report says.
“Countries with at least half a million inhabitants are expected to have the largest relative population declines over that period, with losses of 20% or more, in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia and Ukraine.”
In other highlights, the report said global life expectancy has improved by nearly 9 years since 1990 — to 72.8 years for babies born in 2019 — and is expected to reach 77.2 years by 2050 as death rates continue to fall. But in 2021, life expectancy in the world’s poorest countries was seven years behind the global average.
As for the gender balance, the report says: “Globally, the world will have slightly more men (50.3%) than women (49.7%) in 2022.” “This figure is expected to slowly reverse over the course of the century,” it says. “By 2050, the number of women is expected to equal the number of men.”
The proportion of people of working age between 25 and 64 has increased in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean “thanks to the recent decline in fertility,” the report said.
The UN said this “demographic dividend” presents an opportunity for accelerated economic growth for those countries.
In another trend, the report said, “the population over 65 is growing faster than the population under that age.”
“As a result, the proportion of the global population aged 65 and older is projected to increase from 10% in 2022 to 16% in 2050,” the report said.
Wilmoth said that high life expectancy and very low fertility and birth rates in European countries, Japan, North America, Australia and New Zealand are driving the trend of rapid population aging and ultimately possible population decline.
As a result, international migration will be “the sole driver of population growth in high-income countries” in the coming decades, according to the report.
“By contrast, population growth in low-income and low-middle-income countries will continue to be driven by a surplus of births over deaths for the foreseeable future,” it said.