Major victory for humanity

According to UN estimates, there are now more than eight billion people on the planet.

The United Nations announced on Tuesday morning that the world’s population has officially surpassed eight billion, marking the occasion with a counting clock on its website.

The UN acknowledged advancements in public health, nutrition, personal cleanliness, and medicine in a statement on the Day of Eight Billion, calling them “factors leading to a progressive rise” in the average human lifetime, which is anticipated to reach 77.2 years by 2050.

The organization did draw attention to the planet’s unequal fertility rates, the decreasing growth pace, and the notably elderly populations in several nations.

According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, “the milestone provides a chance to celebrate diversity and accomplishments while contemplating humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet.”

In 2020, the pace of population increase will be less than 1%, according to the World Population Prospect Report 2022, which was published in July.
The population will reach 10.4 billion people by the 2080s and stay there until 2100, according to UN predictions.

More than half of the planned growth up to the 2050s is likely to come from just eight nations: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the United Republic of Tanzania.

The UN emphasized that because these countries are among the poorest in the world, their rapid population increase would make it harder for them to eradicate poverty, end hunger, and improve access to health and education.

The population of developed nations with low birth rates is aging, which is a problem.
The percentage of adults 65 and older will increase from 10% to 16% in the 2050s, surpassing the number of children under the age of five by more than double.
The UN urged nations with aging populations to swiftly adopt pertinent public programs, such as long-term care and universal healthcare systems.

Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund, commented on the findings on the eve of the Day of Eight Billion, saying that the milestone should be considered as “a rallying cry” for change in a society plagued by inequity.