The United Nations revealed that the planet has reached 8 billion inhabitants and will continue to grow, despite the fact that the pace of growth has slowed.
The 2022 revision of the United Nations population estimates and projections projects that the world will reach 9 billion in 15 years and 10 billion in 2058. The increase will be concentrated mainly among lower-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
NEWS 🚨| OFFICIALLY THE WORLD HAS SURPASSED 8 BILLION INHABITANTS pic.twitter.com/z95SPWFmRQ
- We are Cosmos (@InformaCosmos) November 15, 2022
What is the reason for the growth?
According to the UN, the increase in world population over the last 100 years is the result of two important trends, the increase in life expectancy at birth due to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine, and the persistence of high fertility levels in some countries of the world.
The population of Latin America and the Caribbean today represents 8.2 percent of the world's population, with a total of 662 million people, and the region is projected to reach its peak population in 2056, with a total of 752 million people.
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Middle-income countries, mainly in Asia, accounted for most of the growth over the last decade, gaining about 700 million people since 2011. India added about 180 million people and is poised 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 growth rate has fallen steadily to less than 1 percent per year. This should prevent the world from reaching 9 billion people by 2037.
The UN projects that 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 who will be added before world population peaks will be born in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the UN.
Environmental impact
Reaching a world population of 8 billion "is an occasion to celebrate diversity and progress while considering humanity's shared responsibility for the planet," UN Secretary-General António 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 likely to lead to mass migrations and conflicts in the coming decades, experts say.
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The pressure on resources will be especially daunting in African nations, where populations are expected to increase, experts say. These are also among the countries most vulnerable to climate impacts and most in need of climate finance.
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