World’s population reaches 8 billion, UN says
NEW YORK — Until 1804, fewer than 1 billion people roamed our planet. More than a century later, in 1927, we crossed 2 billion.
Since then, the world population has shot up in the shape of a hockey stick, boosted by the triumphs of modern medicine and public health.
The latest marker was passed Tuesday, when the United Nations said the world population had reached 8 billion, just 11 years after it passed 7 billion. (There is no official count, but the international organization said its projections crossed the line Tuesday.)
The growth rate, which is expected to slow globally over the coming decades, has been uneven around the world.
Slowing growth rates in populous nations such as China and the United States have caused some alarm, threatening to upend their societies. Rising birthrates in poorer nations threaten to strain systems that are already struggling.
About 70% of the growth to 8 billion from 7 billion happened in low- and lower-middle-income countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa, the United Nations said. The trend is expected to become even more pronounced in the years ahead.
While it took 11 years for the population to grow to 8 billion from 7 billion, the United Nations said it expected 15 years to pass before we reach 9 billion, in 2037, and another 22 to pass before 10 billion, in 2058.
“A decline in the world’s population is not expected for another half-century, with the exact date depending largely on the future pace of fertility decline in today’s high-fertility countries,” the organization said.
India is expected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation in 2023, the U.N. said in July.