The world is continuing to grow. The latest report from the United Nations projects the global population will reach 8 billion people later this year and continue to rise for the next eight decades. The World Population Prospects 2022 report, released on Monday by the U.N.'s Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division, outlined what countries around the world should expect in the coming years. The global population is expected to reach 8 billion by Nov. 15, the U.N. predicts, but it won't stop there. The population could be around 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100, meaning Earth could have a 31% increase in human population by the end of the century.
"Globally, life expectancy reached 72.8 years in 2019, an increase of almost 9 years since 1990. Further reductions in mortality are projected to result in average longevity of around 77.2 years globally in 2050," the report reads. "Two-thirds of the projected increase in global population through 2050 will be driven by the momentum of past growth that is embedded in the youthful age structure of the current population. Such growth would occur even if childbearing in today's high-fertility countries were to fall immediately to around two births per woman."
China has long been the most populous country, but that isn't expected to last long, with India projected to be the world's most populous country in 2023. Each country currently has a population of over 1.4 billion people, accounting for over 35% of the global population, but China's population is expected to start declining as early as next year
The U.S. population is currently 337 million people and it is projected to be at 375 million people in 2050, still making it the third most populous country in the world, behind India and China.
Population in the United Kingdom is expected to reach 67.44 Million by the end of 2022, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts' expectations.
Business mogul Elon Musk is more concerned with under-population than over-population. The Tesla CEO said Monday that there are "not enough people" in the world and it could threaten human civilization. "I think one of the biggest risks to civilization is the low birth rate and the rapidly declining birthrate," Musk said at the Wall Street Journal's annual CEO Council. The 50-year-old was answering a question about how the proposed Tesla Bot could solve some of the world's labour issues. Musk had previously called the bot a "generalized substitute for human labour over time." "And yet, so many people, including smart people, think that there are too many people in the world and think that the population is growing out of control. It's completely the opposite. Please look at the numbers – if people don't have more children, civilization is going to crumble, mark my words.
It can be hard to imagine how many people live in the world when we all exist in our various smaller communities. Many of us know the general population across the seven continents is around 7 billion people but has that number changed recently? The answer is yes — by a small percentage which is a large number of people.
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