According to the United Nations, eight billion people are expected to live on Earth in November. Especially in the global South, the birth rate is still high. However, the number of people is growing at a slower pace.
According to a new UN report, the number of people on Earth is getting slower and slower.
“In 2020, the growth rate of the world population fell to less than one percent per year for the first time in 1950,” the United Nations announced in a new report on World Population Day.
Currently, population growth is only 0.8 percent, according to the UN data. Due to the COVID pandemic, life expectancy has also fallen by 71 years in 2021 – in 2019 it was still 72.8 years.
However, according to the foundation, the data does not mean a trend reversal in terms of population growth. After all, in absolute terms, the world’s population continues to grow – by about 66 million people per year, or an average of 2.1 people per second.
There are currently 7,977,000,000 people living on Earth, the foundation said. It is expected that the threshold of eight billion will be reached on November 15 this year. For 2030, the researchers predict 8.5 billion people on the planet, for 2050 9.7, before there should be a peak of 10.4 billion people in 2080, which according to estimates will last until about 2100.
Especially in the global south, the birth rate is still high. Many women are still having more children there than they would like.
In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the average number of children for a woman is 4.6 – and is therefore still far above the global average of 2.3, despite falling numbers. The possibility of self-determined family planning from adolescence is not only a human right, but also a key to combating poverty.
For John Wilmoth, Director of the UN Population Division, there are many opportunities in long-term global development – despite all regional differences – especially for developing countries. In addition to the fight against poverty and hunger, this applies above all to the topic of education: fewer young people increase attention per child.
“If the average family size decreases, it will be possible for both families and societies to invest more in each child, improve the quality of education and develop the human capital of the population,” Wilmoth told. The downside of lower birth rates, however, is that the population as a whole is getting older and a larger proportion is reaching an age where they are dependent on help. Especially because life expectancy will also increase.
