Global population has now reached 7.3 billion. In the last 12 years, the world has added approximately one billion people, and in the next 15 years this is expected to happen again.
The United Nation’s new global and regional population estimates and projections entitled “World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision” predicts the population will reach 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100.
Nearly 9% of the world’s population lives in the 21 “high-fertility” countries, where the average woman would have five or more children in her lifetime. Of these, 19 are in Africa and two are in Asia, reports ipsnews.net.
It is estimated that over half of the population growth will occur in Africa – even if there is a substantial reduction of fertility levels which population growth is highly dependent on. Africa also has the highest adolescent birth rate: 98 out of 1,000 women.
Africa will “play a central role in shaping the size and distribution of the world’s population over the coming decades,” says the report.
In the 48 least developed countries (LDCs), of which 27 are in Africa, the population is projected to double or even triple in most of the countries. Countries which are predicted to increase at least five-fold by 2100 include Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Niger, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia.
India to Surpass China
Meanwhile, India is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous country -- and much sooner than previously thought.
China now has a population of 1.38 billion, compared to India’s 1.31 billion, according to UN. But by 2022, India’s population will draw even with that of China, at 1.4 billion people, and then exceed it, CNN reported.
If the data proves correct, India will become the world’s most populous country six years earlier than previously estimated.
India will have 1.5 billion people by 2030 and 1.7 billion by 2050. The population of China, meanwhile, is expected to remain stable until the 2030s, and then decline.
The population boom could pose certain challenges, and have a major impact on India’s economy, which is already growing faster than that of China. To support population growth, India needs to modernize its farm and food delivery systems.
The countries that will have the largest populations in 2030 are: India (1.53 billion), China (1.45 billion), the United States (356 million), Indonesia (295 million), Nigeria (263 million), Pakistan (245 million), Brazil (229 million), Bangladesh(186 million), Mexico (148 million) and Russia (139 million).
