According to the United Nations (UN) World Population Prospects 2022:Summary of Results (27th edition), the global population is projected to achieve 8 billion on November 15, 2022, and India is expected to overtake China as the world’s most populated country in 2023.
- The World Population Prospects 2022 is published to commemorate World Population Day 2022 (July 11, 2022), which occurred in the year in which the world population welcomed the birth of its 8 billionth inhabitant.
Key Projections & Findings
i.According to the UN’s most recent estimates, the world’s population might reach 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050.
- The population is anticipated to peak at about 4 billion people in the 2080s and maintain it until 2100.
ii.The two most populous regions in the world in 2022 were both in Asia: Eastern & South-Eastern Asia had 2.3 billion and Central & Southern Asia had 2.1 billion people.
- With more than 1.4 billion people each, China and India accounted for the majority of the population in these two regions.
iii.It also observed that global population growth has slowed to the slowest rate since 1950, having fallen to less than 1% in 2020.
- Though it took 12 years for the world population to rise from 7 to 8 billion, it will take around 15 years (until 2037) to reach 9 billion, indicating that the global population’s overall growth rate is slowing.
Highlights of the Report
i.Eight nations will account for more than half of the expected growth in the world’s population by 2050 —the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
- Sub-Saharan African countries are expected to contribute more than half of the projected growth until 2050.
ii.Due to recent reductions in fertility, the share of the population of working age (between 25 – 64 years) has increased in most Sub-Saharan African countries, as well as in parts of Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
- The share of the global population aged 65 years and above is expected to climb from 10% in 2022 to 16% in 2050.
iii.In 2019, the global life expectancy at birth reached 72.8 years, an improvement of about 9 years since 1990.
- The average global longevity is expected to reach 2 years in 2050 as a consequence of further reductions in mortality.
World Population Prospects 2022
i.It is the 27th edition of the official UN population estimates and projections. The 2022 revision shows the population forecasts till the year 2100.
- It provides population projections for 237 countries or regions from 1950 to 2022, backed by analysis of past demographic patterns.
ii.For the first time, estimates and projections are offered in one-year intervals of age and time rather than the previous five-year intervals.
Click Here to Read the Ten Key Messages
Recent Related News:
The UN International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) is annually observed across the globe on October 1 to honour the contribution of older persons and to raise public awareness about the opportunities and challenges presented to the ageing populations. The theme for the International Day of Older Persons 2022 is “Resilience of Older Persons in a Changing World.”
About the United Nations (UN):
Secretary General – Antonio Guterres
Headquarters – New York, United States
Establishment – 1945
