According to an estimate by the United Nations, the total number of people globally has already reached eight billion (UN).
In a statement to the press, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, stated that the occasion was a time to celebrate diversity and progress while considering humanity’s shared duty to the planet.
The United Nations attributes the increase in life expectancy to human development due to advancements in public health, nutrition, personal cleanliness, and medicine.
Guterres added, “It is also the outcome of rising fertility rates, especially in the world’s poorest countries, the most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa, putting their development goals in danger.”
Natalia Kanem, the head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), commented on the belief that the world is overpopulated, stating, “Some are concerned that our planet is overpopulated. I am here to make it perfectly apparent that the sheer number of human lives is not cause for alarm.”
The present world population is more than three times that of 1950, which was estimated to be 2.5 billion.
From a peak of 2.1% between 1962 and 1965, annual growth declined to below 1% in 2020.
As a result of a continuing reduction in fertility rates, the United Nations predicts that by 2050 this figure could shrink to approximately 0.5%.
The United Nations forecasts that the world’s population will increase to around 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050, and 10.4 billion by 2080.