![most populous nation most populous nation](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f6/96/75/f69675628acdec843f56c8ac9b84683b.png)
During the 2080s, the number of people globally is expected to hit a peak of 10.4bn.īut the overall population growth rate has dropped to the slowest pace since 1950, having fallen below one per cent as birth rates continue to plummet. The latest report, published by the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs on Monday, predicts that the world will hit a population of eight billion on November 15, before jumping to 8.5bn in 2030 and 9.7bn by 2050. But of course, population trends are only one component of what makes for successful development,” he added. “The more gradual change in India may be advantageous in the long run, as it gives you more time to adapt to a shifting age distribution. “This means you invert the age pyramid increasingly quickly, and these demographic trends are much more difficult to adapt to. “The problems associated with population change come with the extremes – very rapid growth, or a very low fertility rate,” Prof Wilmoth said. The country was one of the first to launch a national family planning programme in the 1950s, and the fertility rate has now dropped to 2.1 per woman – the “threshold for zero growth”.
![most populous nation most populous nation](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/wtlq3r_ZUiY82JX_nkiQg_RSMkl3_bb2W3vZvPdVDWk.jpg)
In terms of migration, “although international migration at or around current levels will be insufficient to compensate fully for the expected loss of population tied to low levels of fertility, especially in the European region, the movement of people between countries can help attenuate some of the adverse consequences of population ageing”.Prof John Wilmoth, director of the UN’s Population Division, told the Telegraph that India’s approach of gradually slowing population growth was more sustainable. The report also noted the impacts of migrants and refugees between countries, in particular noting the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis and the estimated outflow of 4.2 million people. The UN Department said the population growth presented a challenge as the international community sought to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda seeking to end poverty and preserve the planet. The lower fertility rates are resulting in an ageing population, with the number of people aged 60 or over expected to more than double by 2050 and triple by 2100, from the current 962 million to 3.1 billion. “During 2010 to 2015, fertility was below the replacement level in 83 countries comprising 46 per cent of the world’s population,” according to the report. In contrast, the birth rates in Europe are up to 1.6 births per woman, up from 1.4 births in 2000 to 2005. The growth is expected to come, in part, from the 47 least developed countries, where the fertility rate is around 4.3 births per woman, and whose population is expected to reach 1.9 billion people in 2050 from the current estimate of one billion. “At this rate, the world population is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and surpass 11.2 billion in 2100,” the report further revealed. “With roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population every year, the upward trend in population size is expected to continue, even assuming that fertility levels will continue to decline.
![most populous nation most populous nation](https://fthmb.tqn.com/OF6WkA2SpbwUjtOSkgbVcJgjTG8=/2123x1412/filters:fill(auto,1)/GettyImages-142836690-58b9cce13df78c353c380c76.jpg)
The report said in spite of an overall drop in the number of children people have around the globe, the population was spurred by the relatively high levels of fertility in developing countries. The report noted that the world population, now at least 7.6 billion, was up from 7.4 billion in 2016, adding the concentration of global population growth is in the poorest countries.