The world’s population will reach 8 billion people on Tuesday, representing a “milestone in human development” before birth rates begin to slow, according to a United Nations forecast.
In a statement, the UN said the figure means 1 billion people have been added to the world’s population in just 12 years.
“This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human life expectancy due to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine. It is also the result of high and persistent fertility levels in some countries,” the UN statement said.
Middle-income countries, mainly in Asia, have accounted for most of the growth over the past decade, gaining about 700 million people since 2011. India added about 180 million people and is set to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation next year .
But even as the world’s population reaches new highs, demographers note that the rate of growth has steadily declined to less than 1% per year. This will prevent the world from reaching 9 billion people by 2037. The UN predicts that the world population will peak at around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s and remain at that level until 2100.
Most of the 2.4 billion people to be added before world population peaks will be born in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN, marking a shift away from China and India.
Approaching a world population of 8 billion “is an opportunity to celebrate diversity and progress, mindful of humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the UN statement.
Having more people on Earth puts more pressure on nature, as people compete with wildlife for water, food and space. Meanwhile, rapid population growth combined with climate change is also likely to cause mass migration and conflict in the coming decades, experts say.
And whether it’s food or water, batteries or gasoline, there will be less stuff to go around as the world’s population grows. But how much they consume is just as important, indicating that policymakers can make a big difference by forcing a change in consumption patterns.
The carbon emissions of the richest 1 percent, or about 63 million people, were more than double those of the poorest half of humanity between 1990 and 2015, according to a 2020 analysis by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the nonprofit Oxfam International.
The pressure on resources will be particularly dire in African nations, where populations are expected to grow, experts say. These are also among the countries most vulnerable to climate impacts and most in need of climate finance.
