World Population Day 2024 – July 11

The United Nations (UN) World Population Day is annually observed across the globe on 11 July to focus and raise awareness on the urgency and significance of the global population issues.

• The Day also emphasises the relationship between population dynamics, the environment, and development.
• 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action.

Theme:

The 2024 theme of World Population Day is “To Leave No One Behind, Count Everyone“.

• The 2024 theme emphasises the importance of collecting inclusive data, ensuring everyone is fairly represented in population counts, regardless of background, nationality, geography, or socioeconomic standing.
• The 2024 observance highlights the need to capture the full range of human diversity in the data systems.

Background:

i.World Population Day was established in 1989 by the then-Governing Council of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). It was inspired by the Day of Five Billion, observed on 11 July 1987.

ii.In December 1990, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/45/216 and decided to continue observing World Population Day.

iii.World Population Day was 1st observed on 11 July 1990 in over 90 countries.

• Since then, it has been commemorated annually by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) offices, in partnership with governments, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD):

i.In 1994 the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was held in Cairo, Egypt, to define a bold agenda, placing people’s dignity, and sexual and reproductive rights as central to sustainable development.

ii.179 governments adopted the ICPD Programme of Action, demonstrating widespread global commitment.

• The ICPD Programme of Action also highlights the importance of empowering women and girls as a crucial factor in addressing development challenges.

World Population Prospects 2024:

On 11 July 2024, the UN released World Population Prospects 2024: Summary of Results, at the UN Headquarters in New York, the United States of America (USA).

• The World Population Prospects 2024 is the latest estimates, and projections of global trends, and the dataset provides an overview of global population trends from 1950 to 2024.
• This is the 28th edition of the UN’s official population estimates and projections, published since 1951.

Highlights of the report:

i.The world’s population is projected to peak in the mid-2080s, growing from 8.2 billion in 2024 to 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s.

• By the end of the century, the population is expected to decrease slightly to 10.2 billion.

ii.The report presents key findings from the dataset analysis, offering a comprehensive demographic overview.

iii.It includes growth rates, age structures, and the 3 components of population change: fertility, mortality, and international migration.

• Future trends are projected until 2100 at global, regional, and national levels.

World Population Trends:

i.The global population grew from 1 billion to 7 billion in just 200 years. In 2021, it reached nearly 7.9 billion and is projected to hit 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050, and 10.9 billion by 2100.

ii.Fertility rates decreased from an average of 4.5 children per woman in the 1970s to below 2.5 in 2015.

iii.Global life expectancy increased from 64.6 years in the early 1990s to 72.6 years in 2019.

iv.2007 marked the first year more people lived in urban areas than rural and by 2050, 66% of the global population will reside in cities.

2024 Flagship Report of UNFPA:

The UNFPA’s, The State of World Population 2024 flagship report titled “Interwoven Lives, Threads of Hope: Ending Inequalities in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights,” highlights the detrimental effects of racism, sexism, and discrimination on women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health. According to the report:

i.Around 800 women die every day while giving birth, and nearly every one of those deaths is preventable.

ii.In 69 countries, a quarter of women still cannot make their own health-care decisions and nearly 1 in 10 women have no choice in whether to use contraception.

iii.Between 2016 and 2020, the global annual reduction in maternal death was effectively zero.

iv.Women with disabilities are up to 10 times more likely to experience Gender-Based Violence (GBV), including sexual violence.

World Population Review’s list of Largest Cities by Population 2024:

According to World Population Review’s list of Largest Cities by Population 2024, India’s Delhi is ranked 2nd with a population of 33.8 million and Mumbai (Maharashtra) is ranked 9th with a population of 21.7 million people.

• Tokyo (Japan) tops the list as the largest city in the world in 2024 (including the entire Tokyo metro area), with 37.1 million residents.
• Shanghai(China) ranked 3rd with 29.9 million. Shanghai and Beijing (22.2 million) in China, are in the top 10 list.

Note: World Population Review is an independent for-profit organisation committed to delivering up-to-date global population data and demographics.

Top 10 most populated cities in the world 2024

Other Indian Cities: The other Indian cities featured in the Largest Cities by Population 2024 list include: Kolkata (West Bengal) ranked 17 with 15.6 million; Bengaluru (Karnataka) ranked 22 with 14 million; Chennai (Tamil Nadu) ranked 26 with 12.1 million; Hyderabad (Telangana) ranked 32 with 11.1 million.

About the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA):
It began operating in 1969 as the United Nations Fund for Population Activities. Its name was changed to the United Nations Population Fund in 1987, but the original acronym remains.
Executive Director– Dr. Natalia Kanem
Headquarters– New York, USA