The United Nations (UN)’s World Population Day is annually observed across the globe on 11th July to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues and to enhance awareness of population issues, including their relations to the environment and development.
The 2023 theme of World Population Day is “Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities“.
Background:
i. In 1989, the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) established World Population Day, an outgrowth of the interest generated by the “Day of 5 Billion“, which was observed on 11 July 1987.
ii. In December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/45/216 and decided to continue observing “World Population Day“.
iii. World Population Day was first observed on 11th July 1990 across the globe in more than 90 countries.
About Global Population:
According to the future population projection by the UN, 7 billion mark was one of the noted milestone observations and it’s expected to grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100.
Population, a Global Issue:
i. The dramatic growth of the world’s population has been driven largely by increasing numbers of people surviving to reproductive age, and has been accompanied by major changes in fertility rates, increasing urbanization and accelerating migration.
ii. The UN’s system has been involved in addressing these complex and interrelated issues, through the work of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Significance:
i. The 2023 theme highlights the unique opportunity for advocacy of causes like gender equality, women’s empowerment and their role in the shaping of a better world.
ii. Women and Girls make up 49.7% of the global population, so advancing gender equality is a must to create a more just, resilient and sustainable world.
iii. The creativity, ingenuity, resources and power of women and girls are fundamental to addressing demographic and other challenges that threaten our future, including climate change and conflict.
iv. The UNFPA’s 2023 State of World Populationreport illustrates that, on 15th November 2022, the world’s population surpassed 8 billion people.
v. The report also showed ways to combat population alarmism and safeguard reproductive rights and choices for our Future.
Highlights:
As per the UNFPA report:
i. More than 40% of women around the world cannot make decisions on sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.
ii. A woman dies every 2 minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth.
iii. As few as 1 in 4 women across low- and middle income countries (LMIC) are realizing their desired fertility.
iv. More than two thirds of the 800 million people globally who cannot read are women.
About United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency and it aims to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
Started Operations- 1969
Executive Director- Dr. Natalia Kanem
Headquarters- New York, the United States of America (USA)
Motto: “Ensuring rights and choices for all”
