That number will then fall to around 10.2 billion, 700 million lower than expected a decade ago.. That was just one of the major findings revealed on Thursday. World Population Prospects 2024 The report was released by the United Nations on Thursday.
However, global population change is uneven and the demographic landscape is changing, with rapid population growth in some places and rapid aging in others, making reliable population data “more important than ever,” according to the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency (United Nations Population Fund), signaling that the report is published to coincide with World Population Day.
The report “must be used to reach out and meet the needs of those left behind,” the agency added.
‘Everyone counts’
Mark the international dayUN Secretary-General António Guterres said it was important to count everyone accurately “because everyone counts”.
“Our rich human tapestry is only as strong as its weakest thread. When data and other systems work for those on the margins, they work for everyone. This is how we accelerate progress for everyone.”
To examine this population data more closely, the 28th edition of the World Population Prospects (WPP), published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) since 1951, provides the latest demographic data for 237 countries from 1950 to 2024 and projections to 2100.
WPP is important to monitor Sustainable development goalswith about a quarter of its indexes based on its data.
Low birth rate, aging population
The world’s overall birth rate is falling, with women having one fewer child on average than they did around 1990.
In more than half of countries and regions, the average number of births per woman is below 2.1 – the level needed to maintain a constant population size.
Meanwhile, nearly one-fifth of all countries and regions, including China, Italy, South Korea and Spain, now have “extremely low fertility”with fewer than 1.4 live births per woman over her lifetime.
Reach the top
As of 2024, population size has peaked in 63 countries and regions.includes China, Germany, Japan and the Russian Federation, and the total population of this group is expected to decline by 14 percent over the next thirty years.
The average age of the world’s population is also increasing.
By the late 2070s, the number of people aged 65 and over is expected to exceed the number of people under 18..
This is partly due to increased life expectancy and falling mortality rates over the past three decades. By the late 2050s, more than half of all deaths globally will occur in people aged 80 and over, up from 17 percent in 1995.
Fast development
While slow population growth or decline will occur mainly in high-income countries, rapid population growth will occur in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.
Specifically, Angola, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger and Somalia are forecast to grow very rapidly, with a total population of double from 2024 to 2054.
This population growth will increase demand for resources, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, which, combined with poor urbanization and rising living standards, will exacerbate environmental impacts.
Climate change, a major challenge, affects these countries the most, where many people depend on agriculture – and food insecurity is widespread.
In countries including India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United States, populations are also expected to increase through 2054. and is likely to peak in the second half of the century. or later.
Reproductive Health
At the core of population and development is “the recognition that women’s sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights are the foundation of sustainable developmentSecretary-General Guterres said.
Especially in low-income countries, early pregnancy remains a challenge.
In 2024, 4.7 million babies, or about 3.5 percent of all babies born worldwide, are born to mothers under the age of 18..
Of these, approximately 340,000 are children under 15 years of age, with serious consequences for the health and well-being of both young mothers and their children.
According to WPP data, investing in education for young people, especially girls – and increasing the age at which marriage and first births occur in countries where this occurs early – will have positive outcomes for women’s health, educational attainment and workforce participation.
These efforts will also contribute to reducing the scale of investment needed to achieve sustainable development while ensuring that no one is left behind.
