Economics/Statistics
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The world’s population is on the brink of eight billion, with worldometers offering a handy widget allowing users to count down to the moment 7,999,999,999 hits that magic number.
According to the statistical service, which aggregates data from official national and international organizations like the UN, the WHO, and the OECD, at the time of this writing, the planet is currently carrying over 7,999,507,000 people, with over 115.9 million born this year, including 280,000+ of them over the past 24 hours alone. Over 58 million people passed away this year, 140,000+ today, with a net annual population increase approaching 58 million.
The United Nations expects the world’s population to top 8 billion on November 15. In a report published in July, the agency forecast a population of 8.5 billion by 2030, and 9.7 by 2050, and a peak of 10.4 billion in the 2080s before a gradual decline begins.
Growth and growth projections differ radically depending on country, with the UN calculating that globally, the population increase has actually slowed to its lowest levels since 1950 and the start of the agricultural Green Revolution. Moreover, two thirds of the world already lives in a country where the fertility rate per woman is below 2.1 births – equivalent to net zero growth. The UN projects that just eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania will account for more than 50 percent of global population growth to 2050, with India expected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by 2030.
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