World Population Eight Billion

World Population Prospects (WPP) 2022

• It is the twenty-seventh edition of official United Nations population estimates and projections that have been prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat.
• It presents population estimates from 1950 to the present for 237 countries or areas, underpinned by analyses of historical demographic trends.

Highlights of  World Population Prospects Report 2022

Global Scenario:

• Population Growth:
  • The global population will reach 8 billion on November 15, 2022, more than three times the population of 2.5 billion in 1950.
  • The UN projections suggest that the global population could grow to around 5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.4 billion in 2100.
• Rate of Population Growth:
  • The UN report finds that in 2020, for the first time since 1950, the rate of population growth fell below 1 percent per year and it is projected to continue to slow in the next few decades and through the end of this century.
• Population Regions:
  • The world’s two most populous regions in 2022 were Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, with 2.3 billion people, representing 29 percent of the global population, and Central and Southern Asia, with 2.1 billion (26 percent).
  • China and India accounted for the largest populations in these regions, with more than 1.4 billion each in 2022, says the report.
  • Central and Southern Asia is expected to become the most populous region in the world by 2037.
  • More than half of the projected increase in global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in just eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania.
  • The 46 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are among the world’s fastest-growing.
• Elderly Population: The share of the global population aged 65 years or above is projected to rise from 10% in 2022 to 16% in 2050.

India Related World Population Highlights

• India’s Population Growth:
  • The report had said that India’s population stands at 412 billion in 2022, compared to China’s 1.426 billion.
  • India’s growth rate stood at 3 % in 1972, which has dropped down to less than 1% now.
  • India is projected to have a population of 668 billion in 2050, way ahead of China’s 1.317 billion people by the middle of the century.
  • India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country in 2023.
• Age wise distribution:
  • As per the estimates, 68 per cent of India’s population is between 15-64 years old in 2022, while people aged 65 and above comprise seven per cent of the population.
  • Over 27 per cent of the country’s population is between the ages of 15-29. At 253 million, India is also home to the world’s largest adolescent population (10-19 years).
• Demographic Dividend:
  • According to the projections, India has its largest ever adolescent and youth population.
  • India will continue to have one of the youngest populations in the world till 2030 and is currently experiencing a demographic window of opportunity, a “youth bulge” that will last till 2025.

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